Amendment #1 to H4021

Governor's Amendment

Mr. Speliotis of Danvers recommended the following amendment:

The committee on Bills in the Third Reading, to whom was referred the  Engrossed Bill relative to the environmental health of the Blue Hills Reservation (see House, No. 4021) being section 97 contained in the bill making appropriations for the fiscal year 2020 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions and certain activities of the commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund and serial bond requirements and for certain permanent improvements (see House, No. 4000), which was returned by His Excellency the Governor pursuant to Article LVI with recommendation of amendment specified by him, (see Attachment G of House, No. 4014)

Reports recommending that the amendment recommended by His Excellency the Governor be considered in the following form:

By striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof:

“SECTION 1. The University of Massachusetts shall select an independent scientific organization to conduct a study and survey of the environmental health of the Blue Hills Reservation, which shall include: (i) the forest, including plant, animal and insect life, and any contributing factors responsible for any decline in forest health; (ii) the effect of ecological and climate change; (iii) the effectiveness of controlled public hunting in culling the deer population; (iv) the effectiveness of the Blue Hills Reservation deer management program in culling the deer population since 2015; and (v) recommendations to ensure improvements in the environmental health of the reservation. The study shall include the physical tagging of deer for purposes of population surveying; provided, however, that methods may include but shall not be limited to (i) fixed-wing aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles using aerial photography and downward-looking thermal imaging; and (ii) distance sampling using driving transects and spotlights.

The University of Massachusetts shall select an organization to conduct the study and survey within 6 months after the effective date of this act, and the independent scientific organization shall report its findings and data in the form of a report and survey, which shall include proposed recommendations and the costs associated with those recommendations, to the department of conservation and recreation and the department of fisheries and wildlife within 4 years following the start of the study.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect as of July 1, 2019.”