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When Town Manager George King announced he was appointing Steve Orr as a new member of the Conservation Commission, I'll admit that I was shocked.

Orr told me weeks ago he didn't care if he was appointed, didn't even really want the job. What he wanted was to make sure former Conservation Administrator Sarah MacLennan didn't get appointed.

Let's just say Orr has some differences with MacLennan's style and how she worked for King. Orr said her allegiance was with King and not the Wetlands Protection Act.

I've never seen or heard anything concrete about MacLennan's lack of ability when it comes to wetlands protection and as far as I know she is a professional.

What I have heard of is personal disputes, petty snipings (directed at MacLennan) and personality conflicts.

It's no secret that MacLennan left the job last year for a job in Cambridge after being upbraided (some say unnecessarily so) by then chairman Leslee Willetts.

But now Willetts and MacLennan are gone and we have a new Conservation Commission. King also appointed Vickie Staples and re-appointed Bill Merriam and Andy Toorock.

Orr and King have been at the opposite ends of the spectrum on some issues and Orr can best be described as an instigator, a term he agreed with though he had a more vulgar, though still applicable, term to describe himself.

Instigators are useful in that they motivate change when change is usually warranted. And sometimes they are a pain in the butt.

Orr has doggedly pursued developer Christopher Kotsiopoulis in the Doeskin II Estates debacle/spectacle/boondoggle. He has brought up relevant issues, potential violations of building codes.

But he has also failed to see the overriding logic that owners of property have certain inherent rights to develop said property if they so choose even if sensitive neighbors mourn the loss of said property's former appearance.

Please excuse the previous legal speak but there's been enough diarrhea of the mouth on this to give any advocate for open space or rampant development a headache.

I know plans weren't followed and that is punishable, but the overriding opposition to the project sounds like a tree-hugging mob. It pains me to write that because I too am a tree-hugger (within reason).

Orr is also a Precinct 1 Town Meeting member, a fact that might have immediately made him effectively ineligible for the Conservation Commission since public perception is that Northsiders rule over everything involving green space.

Orr also maintains the "Frambors" Web site and online message board where people exchange information about town issues. It's a wonderful way for people to stay involved, rant, get the word out about what works and what doesn't.

I thought Orr's affiliation with the site would be detrimental to his chances on the Conservation Commission because King is sometimes the target of criticism.

And lastly, though I thought this would be the main reason why King wouldn't appoint him, is Orr's penchant for conspiracy theories. Orr suspected that King was deliberately delaying appointments to the Commission so they could not sponsor an article to Town Meeting asking that all of the Morency Street Woods be kept as open space.

King's plan is for the woods to be mostly open space maintained by Natick with some being set aside for four homes, two being affordable. It's a plan that has been heralded by many and Orr thought the commission's alternative would deprive King of the chance to be a hero.

King said he delayed the appointments because of the unexpected resignation of Conservation Administrator Cindy Dionne, who leaves for Maine with her husband.

For clarity's sake, Dionne's leaving has nothing to do with situations involving MacLennan leaving last year or anything else negative involving the Commission. The timing of her leaving and any controversy appears coincidental.

So King appointed Orr anyway. Some would say it is a wise appointment because of Orr's expertise in matters concerning the environment. Others might say Orr has proven he is dedicated to improving the town, whatever his methods. And some might say that King, who likes to say he stays out of politics, is making a political concession and a move of high political gamesmanship: Keep your enemies closest.

Whatever the reasons or non-reasons, Orr gets one year to prove the appointment's wisdom or foolishness.

(Rob Haneisen is the editor of the Framingham Tab. He can be reached at or .)