Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 131 § 10A
The executive office of energy and environmental affairs, the department or any other division of the department within said executive office may designate as qualifying as a nature preserve any real property owned by the commonwealth and under the care and control of said department, executive office or any of its divisions or departments. Such a parcel of real property shall be deemed to be a nature preserve upon the following:
The division shall after a determination that said parcel qualifies as a nature preserve hold a public hearing thereon in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty A.
The division shall file with the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs a statement dedicating said parcel as a nature preserve. Such statement shall include the reasons said parcel qualifies as a nature preserve and a plan for the preservation and protection of said parcel as a nature preserve.
A nature preserve established in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be monitored and maintained as nearly as possible in its natural condition, and shall be used in a manner and under limitations consistent with its status as a nature preserve, without impairment or artificial development for the public purposes of present or future scientific research and education, and of providing a habitat for plant and animal species, communities and other natural objects and for preservation of areas representative of the significant habitats and ecosystems of the commonwealth.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 131, § 10A