U.S. Appellate Court Upholds Ruling Faulting Landowner For Cutting Trees Near Airport
Mellon, 68, of Lyme, a son of the late philanthropist Paul Mellon and heir to the Mellon banking fortune, argued that federal aviation safety laws preempted local regulations and allowed him to remove obstructions such as trees in an area of protected wetlands known as the Chapman Pond Preserve, just south of the airport runway. The land, which is owned by the Nature Conservancy and the East Haddam Land Trust, is considered prime roosting grounds for wintering bald eagles and other wildlife.