The Jones Act (enacted as M.G.L. Ch. 139, Sec. 27A) was adopted in 1963 to safeguard shellfish and marine fisheries against the cumulative deterioration of estuaries and coastal wetlands. It was an emergency law designed to restrict dredge and fill operations. The law empowered the Department of Public Works and the DNR to put an immediate temporary hold on proposed dredge and fill activities. But its authority was limited in that it did not allow the state to take any action until development plans on a wetland already existed. Named after Allan F. Jones, a Republican, who served 14 terms in the state House of Representatives and eight years as the state Senator representing the Cape and Islands and the Plymouth District.
Obituary, Allan F. Jones, 80
