VOTE YES! JUNE 29th, 2020

FOR RIGHTS OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER

Sheffield Annual Town Meeting June 29th 2020 at Mount Everett Regional High School 491 Berkshire School Road, Sheffield.

With your vote, The Town of Sheffield raises the level of protections; for the river, our families, local economies, and the communities that rely on it.

VOTE YES FOR PROTECTING THE HOUSATONIC RIVER

With your vote, the Town of Sheffield affirms the right of the Housatonic River to naturally exist, flourish, be restored, and to be free from activities or projects which violate those rights.

VOTE YES FOR CLEAN WATER

With your vote, Sheffield would be on the forefront of emerging environmental law, preventing further damage, and standing for clean water for generations to come.

VOTE YES FOR RIGHTS OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER

With your vote, Sheffield would be first in the state to join the international Rights of Nature movement, recognizing the intrinsic rights of ecosystems. This honors Sheffield’s rich history of pioneering rights within the US, as both the birthplace of our Massachusetts constitution and the freedom for its enslaved people.

Find out more and keep informed about the date of the vote at:

berkshirerightsofnature@gmail.com

OUR TOWN. OUR VOTE. OUR FUTURE

A group of Sheffield residents has worked with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights {CDER] to draft a bylaw (below) that will establish legal rights for the Housatonic River as it flows through the Town of Sheffield, Massachussetts. Through a citizens' petition, this bylaw has been placed on the warrant to come before the citizens of Sheffield at the next Annual Town Meeting.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, the planned Annual Town Meeting date of May 4th has been pushed back, and no new date has yet been announced. If you, or someone you know, is a resident of Sheffield and would like to show up and vote yes to grant legal standing for the Housatonic River, please fill out our contact form.

RIGHTS OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER BYLAW: Sheffield, MA

Whereas, the town of Sheffield has been a trailblazer in expanding the circle of natural rights, beginning with the Sheffield Declaration of 1773, a manifesto for liberty and human rights, and the subsequent extension of this idea to include slaves, after Elizabeth Freeman, of Ashley Falls, sued for and won her emancipation in 1781, in one of the cases that led to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783; and

Whereas the Housatonic River runs through the very heart of the Town of Sheffield and its wide and fertile floodplains have shaped the town’s past and will help determine its future; and

Whereas local indigenous peoples for centuries drank of, and sustainably fished in the Housatonic’s water, settled along its banks and held the river as a sacred entity; and

Whereas the Housatonic River, has, over the last few centuries, been polluted and damaged by the runoffs of industry and agriculture; and

Whereas countries, cities and townships around the world have already enshrined the civil rights of precious ecosystems in their constitutions and legal frameworks; and

Whereas existing regulatory systems, including Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, are inadequate to the job of protecting our local ecosystems given the environmental pressures facing nature everywhere; therefore,

We the citizens of Sheffield assert:

A. Rights of the Housatonic River

The Housatonic River possesses the right to naturally exist, flourish, regenerate, evolve, and be restored; and to be free from activities or projects which violate those rights. As used in this bylaw, the “Housatonic River” shall include the River’s watershed and tributaries within the Town of Sheffield, which shall have the right to natural groundwater recharge, surface water recharge, and the right to natural water flow.

B. Rights of the People of the Town of Sheffield

The people of the Town of Sheffield possess the right to a healthy, flourishing

Housatonic River, and the right to be free from activities or projects which violate that right.

C. Prohibitions

It shall be unlawful for any business entity or government to violate any of the rights recognized by this Bylaw.

D. Implementation and Enforcement

(1) Enforcement by the Housatonic River.

The Housatonic River may enforce or defend the provisions of this Bylaw through an action brought by any resident of the Town of Sheffield in the name of the River as the real party in interest.

(2) Enforcement by Residents of the Town of Sheffield.

Any resident of the Town of Sheffield may enforce or defend the provisions of this Bylaw in any appropriate court.

(3) Damages.

Any business entity or government that violates any provision of this Bylaw shall be liable for any damages caused to the Housatonic River as a result of the violation. Damages shall be measured by the cost of fully restoring the River to its natural state before the violation, and shall be paid to the Town of Sheffield to be used exclusively for the full and complete restoration of the River as affected by the violation.

(4) Business or Government Entities.

A business entity or government which violates any provision of this Bylaw shall not be deemed to possess any of the rights, privileges, powers, or protections which would interfere with the enforcement of rights secured within this Bylaw.

(5) Duties and Obligations.

The rights of the Housatonic River secured within this Bylaw shall not be interpreted to confer liabilities, duties, obligations, or responsibilities on the Housatonic River.