Marshfield Municipal Airport (KGHG) project helps Daniel Webster Sanctuary grow to 600 acres -Land deal benefits residents, animals

Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary is home to another 100 acres of protected land now that a deal roughly 12 years in the making has finally come to a close.

The transfer of coastal marshland, possible due to the Federal Aviation Administration-required improvement project at the adjacent Marshfield Airport, grows the sanctuary to almost 600 acres, according to South Shore Sanctuaries Director Sue MacCallum.

“It started out as a thought or a dream or a hope,” she said. “It took a long time to come to fruition because it involved the FAA, the town and other agencies, federal and state.”

The protected area includes uplands, forest, ponds, broad fields and the newly supplemented marshlands supported by the tidal Green Harbor River, MacCallum said.

Adding to the protected land is critical for the various animal and plant species that live there, including the vulnerable Eastern box turtle as well as herrings, deer, osprey and crabs, she said.

Preserving marshland also has mitigation benefits for local residents, MacCallum said.

“The marshes have value as a habitat and acts as a sponge when there’s flooding,” she said.

MacCallum has been working on this project since before taking over as director eight years ago. She said it was important to preserve the land now so it could not be lost to development later.

“It’s great to see it all come together,” she said. “It’s been a long haul.”

- Source:  http://marshfield.wickedlocal.com