Wareham

Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. It is situated on the south coast of Massachusetts and bordered by Buzzards Bay to the south. The town has a population of approximately 22,000 people, and it covers an area of 46.3 square miles.

The town has a thriving tourism industry thanks to its proximity to several beaches and recreational areas, including Onset Beach, Little Harbor Beach, and Wicket’s Island. These locations offer opportunities for swimming, fishing, boating, and other water-based activities.

Wareham is also home to several natural areas and parks, such as the Wareham Land Trust and the Lyman Reserve. These areas provide opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, and other outdoor activities.

Wareham’s natural resources are essential to the town’s tourism industry, its attractiveness as a place to live, as well as being essential to the quality of life of its residents. However, Wareham’s natural resources are under threat from outside solar developers and sand mining.

Wareham has lost over 400 acres of native Pine Barrens forest to solar development. Solar developers are attracted to its large lots of undeveloped land, and use SMART solar subsidies to lure landowners to lease their land for solar development. Solar development in Wareham is always preceded by deforestation, and usually by sand mining, two ways that solar subsidies incentivize destruction of our environment in this region. Community Land and Water Coalition advocates for appropriately sited solar that ensures a livable planet for future generations and does not eliminate forests AND wetlands NOR impact water.