Section 10A. The executive office of 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 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.