BROOKLINE — Commissioner of Public Works Erin Gallentine is pleased to announce that the town’s Tree Warden and Conservation Administrator, Tom Brady, has been named the state’s Conservation Administrator of the Year.
Brady was named the Conservation Administrator of the Year by the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. He has served as the town’s Conservation Administrator for 20 years and is on the front line for the Town and its Conservation Commission to protect Brookline’s wetlands and other natural resources, ensuring that proposed projects, big and small, meet the standards of Massachusetts environmental law.
“We are thrilled that Tom is receiving this award,” Brookline Conservation Commission Chair Marcus Quigley said. “His role in preserving and protecting Brookline’s wetlands and precious open space resources is exceptional and worthy of recognition.”
Brady played a critical role in the Muddy River Flood Control and Restoration Project, a nationally significant effort undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Boston, the Town of Brookline, and the Commonwealth that has been underway for two decades. This project has myriad technical and political complexities and has involved multiple jurisdictions, institutions, and citizen groups over many years.
“Tom has not only provided extraordinary stewardship for the Town’s nature sanctuaries,” Commissioner Gallentine said, “but has had a positive and lasting impact on the environment through his role in creating both the Brookline Wetlands Bylaw and the Stormwater/Erosion Bylaw, local measures to enhance Brookline’s ability to protect its resources.”
He has also helped oversee a major capital renovation and accessibility improvement to the Hall’s Pond Sanctuary near Coolidge Corner. Brady provided oversight to improve water quality, maintain trails and boardwalks, and ensure that these important spaces remain in a natural condition despite intensive use.
In addition, he has remained closely connected to the Friends groups that have formed to support the sanctuaries. A Boy Scout leader and Eagle Scout himself, Brady also has supervised numerous Eagle Scout projects that have helped enhance Brookline’s sanctuaries.
“Tom is an invaluable contributor, ensuring that the values of wetlands, open space, and urban forestry are incorporated into town projects, in alignment with the Town’s larger climate change and sustainability goals,” Quigley added. “Brookline is fortunate to have him.”
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