To comply with the Endangered Species Act, the South Hadley Landfill is proposing to make up for the loss of habitat by improving the habitat of the pine barrens moth at another site.
SOUTH HADLEY — Builders who plan to disturb the habitat of a rare species can get legal permission to do so from the state, if they can “mitigate” their damage by improving habitat for the same species at a different site.
Now the Conservation Commission in South Hadley is trying to decide whether to approve a current mitigation plan by the South Hadley Landfill.
The landfill, which has been expanding vertically by building “berms” of trash, is about to enter the horizontal phase of its expansion.
The expansion will damage a priority habitat of the pine barrens moth, which is a “threatened” species, according to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
The species is found in only three sites in Western Massachusetts.
To comply with the Endangered Species Act, the landfill is proposing to make up for the loss of habitat by improving the habitat of the pine barrens moth at another site.
At this new site, the plan is to cut down trees the moth doesn’t feed on, and to let the pitch pine re-seed and thrive. The moth’s larvae feed on pitch pine needles.
The new site is in the Bynan Conservation area, which belongs to the town and serves hikers.
The landfill proposes cutting down 12 acres of white pine and hardwoods there. It also promises to fund management of the moth habitat at the new site for 10 years, with an account established for future management.
The landfill correctly worked through the permitting process with the Natural Heritage program, said Janice Stone, conservation administrator for South Hadley, but it should have consulted the town much earlier in the process.
Stone said it could take 25 to 35 years for a new generation of pitch pine to grow.
In the meantime, hikers would find a different landscape. “Right now it’s very woodsy,” said Stone, “but if it’s cleared, it would be hot and dry. We’re just concerned about what it’s going to look like along one of our main walking trails.
“We’re trying to balance the moth and passive recreation.”
Stone wants to make sure the mitigation project doesn’t do more harm. For example, the Conservation Commission wants to know if the landfill’s plan would affect other plants and animals.
The commission did not make any decisions at its meeting with landfill representatives last week, but will meet again after the proponents get answers to their questions from a Natural Heritage-approved biologist.