"Yesterday, it was the northern red-bellied cooter. Today, it is the eastern box turtle. Tomorrow, it will be some other animal that threatens to scuttle the $1 billion casino resort project planned for Middleboro. If casino backers think opponents will “go gentle into that good night,” they are badly misinformed.

The front-page news Monday was that the cooter, an endangered species of turtle exclusive to Plymouth County, could be on the 550 acres in Middleboro controlled by the Mashpee Wampanoags and their casino moneymen. A day later, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said the cooter is in the Nemasket River, which is near, but not on, the tribe's property.

That spokeswoman then pointed out that the eastern box turtle, which is not endangered, but of “special concern” in Massachusetts, has been mapped on the property. That doesn't seem likely to scuttle the project in itself, but DFW spokeswoman Lisa Capone mentioned that there are other wildlife species of concern on the proposed casino site. Whether opponents can find one that rises to the level of endangered is a key question and one that is likely to be addressed at a public environmental hearing on casino plans on March 4."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Wildlife plays a big part in casino plans (The Brockton Enterprise 1/24)