FELLS PLANT SURVEY NEARS COMPLETION
GENEROUS GIFT BOOSTS FRIENDS ANNUAL FUNDRAISING
According to Bryan Hamlin, as the Fells plant survey team completes its field work, "It is now time to report on our findings and that report is now being prepared, along with a power-point presentation. We can say at this stage that we have re-found many species earlier reported as having departed the Fells."
The final results of the floristic survey
will add a new chapter in understanding
the natural features of the Fells
Reservation.
A Fells plant survey had been published in
1896, edited by Walter Deane who had
coordinated a team of up to twenty botanists
to catalogue the plants in the four metro-
politan reservations. Deane’s report listed 692 species of Middlesex Fells vascular plants –ferns, conifers and all flowering plants.
Reviewing that survey Dr. Hamlin wondered how the Fells plant biodiversity had held up over the last hundred years so he began to catalogue what he found.
In early 2005 he was joined on the Fells trails by Betty Wright who has a certificate of training in plant identification from the New England Wild Flower Society and is famous for tracking down small weeds. In 2006 Don Lubin, an acknowledged fern expert, joined the effort and by the close of 2007 had reported 32 species of fern and club-moss in the Fells. In 2007 the team was greatly strengthened by Irina Kadis of the Arnold Arboretum who (sometimes also with her husband, Alexey Zinoviev, an expert on willows) joined Hamlin on several productive forays in the Fells. By the end of October 2007 Hamlin himself made 285 plant-searching visits to the Fells spanning five summers.
Harvard Herbarium This team of four is now aided and advised by Mr. Walter Kittredge, Senior Curatorial Assistant, Harvard University Herbaria (which houses the largest collection of preserved plant specimens in the country), and Assistant Curator, New England Botanical Club Herbarium. Kittredge has made some visits to the Fells himself and has led time-consuming sessions in the lab at the Herbarium identifying challenging plant specimens, at the same time as accepting these ‘vouchers’ into the Herbarium collection. As an additional record of what has been found, Hamlin has taken and catalogued over 1200 photographs covering many of the plants found.
By November 2007 the Fells Team had documented 655 species of vascular plants, almost the same number as reported by Deane in 1896. During the winter of 2007-8, this team of four, plus advisers Kittredge and Zinoviev, plan meetings to assess the already substantial findings, evaluate through comparison charts the changes in flora that have occurred in 110 years, and plan the final work needing to be done in 2008 (for example with grasses and sedges that is expected to add several more species) to bring the survey to completion and intended publication.
Hamlin writes of the significance of the ongoing survey,“A measure of the health of a reasonable-sized parcel of woodland is its biodiversity – or the number of different species living in interdependence together. The fact that 692 plant species existed in the Middlesex Fells in the 1890s and that 110 years later the figure is virtually the same, with the survey work not yet complete, demonstrates the maintenance of this biodiversity, with insects, birds, mammals and other creatures in the Reservation all dependent, directly or indirectly, on this plant diversity. “We cannot however be complacent. There are increasing pressures threatening this biodiversity. As comparison charts are drawn up we shall be able to see what changes in the plant life have occurred in the past century and, hopefully, some indicators as to the causes of these changes.”
Each year at this time, the Friends of the Fells is grateful for the outpouring of public support which helps the us continue to provide free programs connecting visitors to the nature of the 2500 acre Reservation. The weekly 'Babes in the Woods' program has been a popular way for parents and their children to experience the Fells in all seasons. Hike leadership, the Botume House lecture series, trails clean up events, year round advocacy, quarterly newsletters and website development are all made possible by the generosity of so many who want to see the Fells remain a natural oasis for this and future generations.
This year -- thanks to a challenge gift -- donors' generosity will go even further!
Please help us achieve our common goals by sending a donation to the Friends of the Fells annual appeal!
Please send your tax-deductible contribution today to help us protect and enhance the Fells Reservation.
Mail to: Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation,
PO Box 478, Stoneham, MA 02180
Thank you!
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GRANT AWARDED TO DOCUMENT ORIGINAL SURVEYS
The Harvard University Herbaria was recently awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant to document the original 1896 Deane plant survey of the four Metropolitan Reservations: Beaver Brook, Blue Hills, Middlesex Fells, and Stony Brook.
The impetus for applying for this grant was provided by the research done at the Herbaria by Dr. Bryan Hamlin and Walter Kittredge for the recently completed survey of the Fells flora. Walter, who is the Senior Curatorial Assistant at the Herbaria, will be the primary contributor for this project, locating, databasing, and imaging the original voucher specimens that were deposited in the New England Botanical Club Herbarium.
These images will then be linked by the librarians to images of relevant archival materials from the library, and made available to the public on the Harvard Herbaria website.
These materials will highlight the unique history and floristic study of these first iconic reservations, providing new research tools for historians and scientists.
RULING AGAINST GUTTIERREZ CO. CHANGES TO FELLS PARKWAYS
The Mass Historical Commission (MHC) has formally ruled that the parkway alterations proposed in the Fells Parkways Vision Plan financed by the Gutierrez development company would “result in adverse effects to the Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways Historic District.”
The Commission refused to accept the developer’s proposal to close two of the four Woodland Road lanes to traffic and to create a series of traffic intersection changes. The ruling said that this would amount to “destruction and alteration of character defining historic roadway features” which would be “much more widespread than previously proposed.”
The Mass Historical Commission has jurisdiction because the Fells parkways are listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
Vision Plan In the fall of 2006 the Gutierrez Company paid for the creation of a “Vision Plan” for the Spot Pond district of the Fells Reservation.
At the time many expressed concern that the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) was facilitating a developer financed study which could predictably be used to prepare the way for the huge “Langwood Commons” housing and office development project proposed for the former hospital site across from Spot Pond in the Fells. In December, 2007, at a public meeting in Stoneham, the Florida based design team financed by Gutierrez and supervised by DCR presented suggestions for a “Fells Parkways Vision Plan”, sharing ideas for slowing traffic and adding more trees and greater visitor access in the vicinity of Spot
Pond.
But what was most on people’s minds at the meeting was the threat of the area being over- whelmed by the proposed “Langwood Commons” development project. One meeting participant declared that the Gutierrez Company should not be allowed to use the Vision Plan to convert
Woodland Road into a private driveway for over 8,000 daily traffic trips generated by his proposed 405 housing units and 225,000 square feet of office space.
Traffic lanes Removing two of the four Woodland Road lanes was suggested by the hired consultants as a way of reducing traffic along Spot Pond, but this idea came in large part from the Florida based planning team’s assumption that Woodland road is used as an alternate to Route 93 when 93 is congested. Taking issue with this, one area resident explained recently in a letter to the Friends, “anyone familiar with the roadways around Spot Pond knows that if you want to get off Rte. 93 to avoid traffic you would take Rte. 28 not Woodland Rd. So the idea that the traffic on Woodland Road is due to folks using it as a detour around traffic on Rt. 93 is misleading.”
Woodland Road is used to connect Malden, Melrose and Stoneham commuters to Route 93. Melrose Mayor Robert J. Dolan and many others have expressed concerns that removing two Woodland Road traffic lanes would cause spillover of diverted traffic to neighboring communities.
Traffic studies show that there are nearly a dozen failing intersections in the Spot Pond region; these would be put under even greater pressure with lane closings, causing unacceptably greater traffic congestion in neighborhoods and on all other parkways in the district.
Decision The Friends of the Fells applauds the Mass Historical Commission’s decision which upholds the unique features of Woodland Road and protects the entire district from being damaged by unwise reconfigurations of historic infrastructure. This decision also points squarely at the unintended consequence of greater traffic congestion which would arise from removing vehicle lanes on Woodland Road.
Public process The Commission has invited interested parties to enter into the MHC consultation process and has asked for comments from the Massachusetts Highway Department “concerning traffic implications for regional traffic patterns resulting from this new proposal.”
While there is considerable public support for bringing the Spot Pond region closer to its intended destination as a natural oasis for peace and quiet, this is not why the Gutierrez Company financed the Vision Plan for the Spot Pond district.
What the public has been demanding for over seven years is that the developer must reduce the scale of his proposed “Langwood Commons” project to ensure destructive impacts will not be brought to the Middlesex Fells Reservation, its historic parkways, and nearby communities.
The Massachusetts Environmental Affairs office has ruled that the developer must file an additional Environmental Impact Report for the housing and office proposal which will result in a thirty-day comment period for concerned citizens to formally respond.
DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT
Friends statement on the development proposal at the former hospital site across from Spot Pond
Spanning seven years, two governors, and three Environmental Affairs Secretaries, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office has rejected four consecutive proposals submitted by the Gutierrez Company for the former hospital site. In the most recent ruling issued on January 6, 2006, the developer has been instructed to present significantly “reduced-build plans” for the “Langwood Commons” housing/commercial project. In all four instances, MEPA found that the proposals represented unacceptable impacts to the Middlesex Fells parkland and historic parkways.
The recent lawsuit settlement by two homeowners with the proponents of the Langwood Commons project does not materially change the impact that this oversized development would have on the Middlesex Fells Reservation or its historic parkways. The slight reduction from the excessive number of proposed housing units will not significantly lower the thousands of additional vehicle trips that would result if the project were to be completed.
The suggested project scale reduction should not be confused with a development alternative that would truly be in harmony with the historic nature of the Fells and its parkways, listed in both the National and State Register of Historic Places. The four rulings from the Massachusetts MEPA office are consistent with this position.
Over 4000 comment letters from concerned citizens, organizations, state agencies and elected officials have been submitted to the Secretary of Environmental Affairs urging protection for the Fells and opposition to the proposed project. National environmental organizations have made protection of this resource a priority, as has the Commonwealth in its rejections of Mr. Gutierrez’ project plans.
The Friends will continue our efforts to safeguard the Fells by insisting on a redevelopment that is consistent with the historic character and capacity of the Fells parkways. We will advocate for a redevelopment that will not be destructive of the Fells Reservation. The citizens of the five Fells communities are our strength and partners while these important and historic decisions are being made.
Board of Directors
The Friends of the
Middlesex Fells
Reservation
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis Photo by Bryan Hamlin
Photo by Bryan Hamlin | ||||
