The date is March 2, 2024 at Holy Cross College. Mr. McGregor and Ms. Grzenda say It will be fast paced, focused on nuts and bolts, and painfully practical.

Conservation agents and Conservation Commission members have limitless questions on so many subjects and need straight answers and useful tips.

Mr. McGregor and Ms. Grzenda say they are open to any “burning questions relating to wetlands, laws, procedures, meetings, powers, enforcement, financial or personnel issues, politics, practices, needs, and problems that plague Conservation Commissions.” Based on their prior presentations, the audience can expect responses to be brief and to the point. The MACC is promoting this workshop as a place to obtain “off-the-record legal information and reliable practical direction of the sort you get on the MACC Help Line without having to write it down or wait for a reply!”

Speakers:

Michele Grzenda is the Conservation Director for the Town of Lincoln where she blends the fields of environmental regulation, open space protection, and land management. Having worked for three different Conservation Commissions over the last 20 years, she enjoys sharing the tools and tricks to running an efficient conservation office and communicating effectively with commission members, applicants, residents, and wetland violators. Ms. Grzenda is a Director of the Massachusetts Society of Municipal Conservation Professionals, Chair of Sudbury Valley Trustee’s Stewardship Committee, Steering Committee member for Women on the Land, a former Officer of MACC, and a former North Attleboro Conservation Commission member.

Mr. McGregor is founder of our firm where he and our partners and associates handle all manner of environmental law, land use, real estate, energy, and litigation matters. His court cases, including several for landowners, businesses, municipalities, and MACC as amicus curiae, have created numerous legal precedents in the environmental realm including wetlands, floodplains, wildlife, the Taking Doctrine, and the Home Rule powers (and limits) of cities and towns. For 18 years Mr. McGregor was a member or chair of the Wellesley Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which is the first and only elected conservation commission. He has been president of MACC twice. In 2020, he received MACC’s Long-Time Environmental Service Award.