MAINE PUBLIC • March 17, 2023
A group of Dalton, New Hampshire, residents petitioned recently to put the existence of the town’s conservation commission and planning board up to a vote. The effort failed Tuesday, and the boards were preserved. But the debate was a stand-in for a larger issue that has divided the town for years: a landfill development proposed by the company Casella Waste Systems. The company hopes to build a new landfill next to Forest Lake State Park, not far from another landfill they own in Bethlehem. The debate over that landfill has raised questions familiar to many small communities: How should a town balance desires to protect the environment with calls for more services, and the associated need for tax revenue? What are the trade-offs between growth and preservation?