Rainbow Beach Alternative Analysis 3-11-2019.docxAlternatives Analysis
The primary alternative to the habitat management and community restoration work that is being proposed in this filing (Invasive Plant Control and General Vegetation Control) is to not
conduct these activities within wetland/riparian resource areas. DFW has determined that conducting these activities within resource areas is the best way to not only complement the
extensive management and restoration work being undertaken in the areas adjacent to these resource areas, but these activities, when carried out appropriately in resource areas, will
both restore priority natural communities and improve habitat for specialized plants and animals of conservation concern within the resource areas, as well as result in a mosaic of
complementary natural communities across the landscape. Excluding these activities from resource areas would result in a greatly fragmented landscape and the loss of an opportunity
to restore important natural communities and specialized habitat.
Bordering Vegetation Wetlands/Bank Methodology:
The resource area impacts were determined by using the MassDEP hydrology/wetlands layer for GIS to analyze the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area against the proposed management activities.
Management activities have been determined to be beneficial to hydrologic features and all work will only have a temporary impact over the period of the NOI. Proposed efforts will
be adaptive with only a subset of activities occurring each field season which will minimize impacts to the landscape. Once hydrologic features were identified on GIS a site visit
was conducted to inspect all of the wetland resources that identify topography, wetland vegetation, and soil. These attributes were used to determine the resource area impact for Rainbow
Beach.