Coastal Services Center

Explore Scenarios

This project illustrates what could occur if there were no change in dock regulations (build-out) and compares it with other options (the scenarios) for Green Pond in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The two scenarios, A and B, were developed to compare the visual impacts, as well as the impacts to the natural resources, of alternative dock regulations.

Resource conservation areas include sections of Green Pond where significant quantities of marine life (specifically clams, oysters, and crabs) and habitat (such as eel grass) are present and could be negatively impacted by dock growth. Scenarios A and B provide options to reduce the number of potential docks in these areas. For more details, see the Resource Conservation Areas page.

Detailed information, including potential dock locations, types of docks, management concerns, and related data, is provided for each of the options below:

Current vs. Build-Out Scenario

The current situation is shown in this scenario. As the baseline for comparison, the Current Scenario shows all docks built as of April 2001 under the existing regulations.

The Build-Out Scenario shows what Green Pond would look like if every property eligible under existing regulations built a dock.

Scenario A

Scenario A shows what Green Pond would look like if no new docks were allowed in resource conservation areas and the size limit for docks in the pond reduced.

Scenario B

Scenario B shows what Green Pond would look like if only shared docks were allowed in the pond. In this version, resource conservation areas would allow a limited number of docks designed to conserve existing resources.