From the Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation:

Fells Reservation Resource Management Plan Public Workshop Series

‘The Fells should always be a place where our spirits and minds are fed, as we wander, and wonder, quietly and observantly, through the natural beauty which is the Fells. That is also a recreation to be preserved.’ (Bryan Hamlin, Ph,D. Chairman, Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation)

With over two thousand five hundred acres of forests, craggy hilltops, lakes, ponds, streams and trails the Fells Reservation has served generations of young and old alike as a place of natural beauty, a destination for finding refuge from the busy urban world.

But over time nature has not been well protected or managed in the Fells. Presence of Reservation rangers has dwindled, and for decades there has been negligible enforcement of regulations in the Fells.

A ‘culture of non-compliance’ has diminished the wildness of plant and animal life. Visitor concerns about threats to Fells resources and lessening of public safety have gone unanswered, and now proposals which would increase bike riding on footpaths throughout the Reservation are being urged.

Fells Resource Management Plan process

In response to visitor concerns, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has now initiated the Fells Reservation Resource Management Plan (RMP) process. At the January 31st public meeting in Medford, DCR Planning Director Joe Orfant stated that the agency aimed to fully address management challenges in the Fells, in alignment with the DCR mission, To protect, promote and enhance our commonwealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources.

Mr. Orfant stated that the first goal of the RMP team is to make sure the agency fully understands the property it is managing. To help DCR gather background information a series of public workshops on the status of natural, cultural and recreational resources in the Fells Reservation is now under way.

The complete schedule of Resource Management Plan workshops provided by DCR is listed here.

Wetlands and Water Resources Workshop
Co-hosted by Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and Environmental League of Massachusetts
Thursday, February 17, 2011
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham
Speakers include David Gilmartin (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority), Matthew Burne (Vernal Pool Association), Ken Pruitt (Environmental League of Massachusetts), and Steve Swymer (Town of Winchester Water Department).

Cultural Resources
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham
Speakers may include representatives from DCR Cultural Resources and Operations Staff, Friends of the Fells and local historians.

Recreation
Co-hosted by Appalachian Mountain Club and the New England Mountain Bike Association
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
McGlynn School Cafeteria, 3002 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford
This workshop will engage the public in further discussing recreational uses and needs at the Middlesex Fells.

Education and Interpretation
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham
Speakers may include representatives from DCR Bureau of Ranger and Interpretive Services staff and partners.

Enforcement
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham
Speakers may include representatives from DCR Bureau of Ranger and Interpretive Services Staff and State and local police.

DCR is inviting you to share your thoughts, comments, suggestions and solutions for the Fells.

Emails or written comments should be sent to the process facilitators from the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at:

MiddlesexFellsRMP@umb.edu

or:

Middlesex Fells RMP Comments
c/o MA Office of Public Collaboration
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd., M-1-627
Boston, MA 02125

Please consider sending an email, cc: friends@fells.org

Final meeting schedule, additional information and changes concerning the Fells Resource Management Planning process and upcoming meetings will be posted at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/publicmeetings/rmpupcoming.htm.

If you have questions about the public meeting, please call 617-626-4974 or email DCR.Updates@state.ma.us.

The Friends of the Fells website will issue periodic updates on the Middlesex Fells Reservation Resource Management Plan process.