- 2 . 



sunmar rooreational oarapa and other outdoor gatherings » auoh 

 as the Berkshire Kusic Festival* iiefore the advent of County 

 FrojeotSy groups of adjacent comnmnltles banded together vol- 

 untarily, to alleviate the oonmion mosquito nuisance. Two such 

 area groups have persisted to the present — nainely, the Seat 

 Middlesex Project consisting of fourteen contiguous cities end 

 towns centered about the City of Walthaza, and the South Shore 

 Project which includes ten seacoast cities and towns located 

 along the south shore of Massachusetts oay. 



In addition, there exists five maintenance Projects, 

 established to preserve the salt marsh mosquito control ditches^ 

 installed by authority provided in Chapter 112 of the Acts of 

 1931* These salt marsh ditches represent the first concerted 

 effort by the Cowiaonwefllth to control its major mosquito nuisance. 

 In later years, the State received some financial assistance 

 fr<M» the Federal Government, until, eventually, all salt marsh 

 areas had been ditched for mosquito control at a total expense 

 of approximately C^l,200,000, Under the original act, seacoast 

 cities and towns, benefiting fr<»B the above mentioned activity, 

 are assessed arinually by the State Reclamation Board for main- 

 tenejoce of these salt marsh mosquito control ditches. 



As water recreational areas developed, a demand was 

 created for control of the lesser nuisance pests, particularly 

 ttot salt narsh greenhead fly, the brackish water midge species, 

 and the aquatic weed nuisances. In 19i46, the Legislature enacted 

 a Resolve autliorizlng an investigation of the greenhead fly 



