To the Editor:

The Buzzards Bay Coalition is pleased to support the Town of Wareham’s request for Community Preservation funding to purchase and preserve the Little Harbor Country Club as open space. 

The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a regional conservation nonprofit dedicated to the restoration, protection and sustainable use and enjoyment of Buzzards Bay. A key method that we use to protect the Bay is proactive land conservation through direct ownership and by Conservation Restriction. We currently own and manage 199 acres in Wareham and operate the Onset Bay Center where we build personal connections with our local environment through on-the-water activities. 

Little Harbor Country Club’s 54-acres provides a number of important conservation values as it lies adjacent to sensitive coastal marshes and connects to hundreds of acres of other already preserved lands creating a corridor for wildlife, protecting water quality, and defining the scenic character and beauty of Great Neck. 

As use of CPA funding requires the placement of a permanent Conservation Restriction on the property, your support will ensure that this land will forever provide the public recreational, wildlife, and storm-impact mitigation benefits that it provides today. Were the land not to be purchased with CPA funds, the maintenance of this land as open space could not be guaranteed. 

We also offer our assistance to the CPA committee and the town as you looks to craft and monitor an appropriate Conservation Restriction that is protective of water quality and wildlife while allowing for golf course management to continue and thrive. 

Thank you,

Mark Rasmussen

President, Buzzards Bay Coalition