Area of Critical Environmental Concern (Massachusetts)

The Massachusetts Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Program is a list of state-designated places within the Commonwealth that receive special attention due to their natural and cultural resources. The program was established in 1975 and includes a list of thirty ACECs covering over 268,000 acres in seventy six communities throughout the state. The ACEC Program is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on behalf of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

List of ACECs in Massachusetts

Ref#	ACEC Name	Area (acres)	Designated	Location	Notes
1	Bourne Back River	1,850	1989	Bourne
2	Canoe River Aquifer and Associated Areas	17,200	1991	Easton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, Sharon, and Taunton	Includes Watson Pond, Lake Sabbatia, and the Snake River
3	Cedar Swamp	1,650	1975	Hopkinton
4	Central Nashua River Valley	12,900	1996	Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster, and Leominster
5	Cranberry Brook Watershed	1,050	1983	Braintree and Holbrook
6	Ellisville Harbor	600	1980	Plymouth
7	Fowl Meadow and Ponkapoag Bog	8,350	1992	Boston, Canton, Dedham, Milton, Norwood, Randolph, Sharon, and Westwood
8	Golden Hills	500	1987	Melrose, Saugus, and Wakefield
9	Great Marsh	25,500	1979	Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Newbury, and Rowley	originally designated as Parker River/Essex Bay
10	Herring River Watershed	4,450	1991	Bourne and Plymouth
11	Hinsdale Flats Watershed	14,500	1992	Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, and Washington
12	Hockomock Swamp	16,950	1990	Bridgewater, Easton, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater
13	Inner Cape Cod Bay	2,600	1985	Brewster, Eastham, and Orleans
14	Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin	1,350	1995	Lee and Stockbridge
15	Karner Brook Watershed	7,000	1992	Egremont and Mount Washington
16	Miscoe, Warren, and Whitehall Watersheds	8,700	2000	Grafton, Hopkinton, and Upton
17	Neponset River Estuary	1,300	1995	Boston, Milton, and Quincy
18	Petapawag	25,680	2002	Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough	Lower Nashua River and Salmon Brook areas.
19	Pleasant Bay	9,240	1987	Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans
20	Pocasset River	160	1980	Bourne
21	Rumney Marshes	2,800	1988	Boston, Lynn, Revere, Saugus, and Winthrop
22	Sandy Neck Barrier Beach System	9,130	1978	Barnstable and Sandwich
23	Schenob Brook Drainage Basin	13,750	1990	Mount Washington and Sheffield
24	Squannassit	37,420	2002	Ashby, Ayer, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, and Townsend	Squannacook River and Mulpus Brook areas.
25	Three Mile River Watershed	14,280	2008	Dighton, Norton, Taunton
26	Upper Housatonic River	12,280	2009	Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, Washington
27	Waquoit Bay	2,580	1979	Falmouth and Mashpee
28	Weir River	950	1986	Cohasset, Hingham, and Hull
29	Wellfleet Harbor	12,480	1989	Eastham, Truro, and Wellfleet
30	Weymouth Back River	800	1982	Hingham and Weymouth

References

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling
National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory
Other National Park Service units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore
National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Assabet Concord Sudbury Taunton Westfield
Other protected areas	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Governor Thomas Dudley Great Brook Farm Greycourt Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck
Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain
Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

Wildlife management areas

Wildlife
management areas

Wildlife
sanctuaries

The Nature Conservancy
Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Roger and Virginia Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

Other
Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

Category
Boston
Emerald Necklace
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Commons

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