Commission Functions

We are committed to collaborating proactively with all Marion residents and businesses to ensure compliance with the Wetlands Protection Act. The Commission plays a vital role in protecting and enhancing the natural environment for current and future Marion residents.

The Wetlands Protection Act states: "No person shall remove, fill, dredge or alter any bank, riverfront area, freshwater wetland, coastal wetland, beach, dune, flat, marsh, meadow or swamp bordering on the ocean or any estuary, creek, river, stream, pond, or lake, or any land under said waters or any land subject to tidal action, coastal storm flowage, or flooding…without filing a written notice of his intention."

Any work within one of the resource areas, any work within 100 feet of a freshwater or bordering vegetative wetland, any work within 200 feet of a river or stream, or any work within the land subject to coastal storm flowage (elevation 15' mean sea level or lower) must file for a permit with the Conservation Commission.

Coastal Resource Areas

  • Land under the ocean and salt ponds;
  • Land subject to tidal action and coastal storm flowage;
  • Land containing shellfish;
  • Coastal beaches, dunes, and banks;
  • Barrier beaches;
  • Rocky intertidal shores;
  • Anadromous/catadromous fish runs;
  • Designated port areas;
  • Salt marshes.

Inland Resource Areas

  • Land under the ocean and water bodies/waterways;
  • Land subject to flooding;
  • Banks;
  • Bordering vegetated wetlands;
  • Riverfront areas.

If you have any questions about proposed work, land use or other activity in the vicinity of wetlands, or whether land falls within our jurisdiction, please contact our office.