Hampden Conservation Commission Orders Wetland Restoration, Votes to Probe Farm Exemption Claim

HAMPDEN — May 20, 2026 — Hampden Conservation Commission orders wetland restoration and splits on farm-exemption inquiry at May 20 meeting. The commission voted unanimously to require a formal revegetation plan and reinstallation of permanent wetland markers at a residential property where wetland delineator Steve reported finding unauthorized clearing, grading, and fill material up to four feet deep in the buffer zones behind two lots — disturbance that Steve said could take 15 to 25 years to reverse through natural succession. Property owner Russ, who met with commission staff that morning, agreed the restoration burden falls on him. In a separate 3-2 vote, the commission authorized its conservation agent to send a written inquiry to the attorney for the owner of 530 Glendale Road requesting documentation of where agricultural activity is occurring on the property and whether it meets the profit threshold required for exemption under the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act — a question two members said lacked sufficient probable cause to pursue. Lain Wilder, Executive Director of Opacum Land Trust, updated the commission on a 109-acre Forest Legacy conservation restriction covering forested land on Chapin Road owned by Mary and Megan MacKenzie, warning that federal grant funding expires July 31 and a second extension is not expected.