Newest Candidate for Sharon Conservation Board Leads State Association

The head of the state's conservation commission group wants to join Sharon's conservation commission. Resident Linda Orel interviewed with selectmen Monday night. The board traditionally interviews candidates for vacancies and takes a position at one of its next two meetings, Chairman William Heitin said. Orel said her resume' includes serving as Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions executive director, where she is finishing her second year. Sharon Conservation Administrator Greg Meister "received an award from MACC a couple of years ago," Orel said. "I'm looking forward to meeting him. He's supposed to be one of the best in the state." Orel said she is an environmental attorney who is not practicing, "but (I) have a commitment to environmental protection and conservation and natural resources." She also was a staff attorney on the State House's Natural Resources Committee, where, she said, she drafted and passed legislation, including the Brownfields provisions. Orel said her experience has made her "quite a pragmatist, where I really cared for the environment, but I also cared about the economy." She said that after moving to Sharon, she learned about Sharon Commons through a listserv she joined here. She then looked into it. "It wasn't a perfect project when it came to the environment, because some green space had to be cut," Orel said. "But, it wasn't ecologically valuable green space, in my opinion."