Brian LeClair said he has served on the town Conservation Commission for 15 years. But he admits his tenure might be longer because volunteering is one of his major life motivations.
“Throughout my life I’ve always done volunteer things. When I lived in Cambridge for 20 years, I served on the board of the Cambridge Civic Association,” he said.
An outdoor aficianado who got involved in the Boy Scouts of America after moving to Marblehead, LeClair applied for a vacancy on the commission and secured a Select Board appointment.
The Conservation Commission has two primary functions. Members enforce the law to protect wetlands resource areas, such as oceans, rivers, streams, wetlands. If people commit illegal activity, the commission can issue enforcement orders, with fines, and require restoration work if there is any damage.
The second function is permitting for construction in resource areas or their buffer zones. Whether it is building a house or repairing the seawall or taking a tree down related to a conservation area, it requires a permit from the Conservation Commission.
“I do think people should appreciate all of the wonderful resource areas we have in Marblehead. The ocean, the conservation lands, some of the streams that people probably aren’t even aware of that run through the town,” LeClair said.
He credits the Conservancy in Marblehead for raising money, undertaking projects and working to help protect town conservation land. “Without them, we would’ve a terrible time trying to take care of the town’s conservation lands unless the town decided to start budgeting money for that purpose,” said LeClair.
