Photo credit Marian Siljeholm
October 5, 2018
Letter of concern from Ron Morin, Executive Director, Friends of the Fells
Please click here to see our position paper on the 90mm Meadow/Hockey Rink Proposal.
Dear Members and Friends,
As you can see from the newsletter and our website, the Friends of the Fells opposes construction of an ice hockey rink in the ‘90mm’ meadow (also called Nike) site in the Lawrence Woods area of the Middlesex Fells. The location of this proposed facility in the Reservation would destroy natural resources, negatively impact contiguous sections of the Fells, and bring unacceptable traffic levels and alterations to South Border Road, a historic parkway.
This is the wrong site for constructing a hockey rink, which would also include a 120-car parking area, an access road, electric transmission lines, and other unwarranted infrastructure.
The project would destroy much heavily wooded forest as well as the only uncontaminated open meadow left in the Fells. Since the 1960s, Fells rangers and volunteers ranging from local area Scout Troops to high school and college students have worked to maintain the meadow as a rich and welcoming habitat for birds and butterflies. Mass Audubon has documented numerous rare bird species nesting in the site and since 1980 to now 67 species of butterflies have been observed at the site.
We have published this initial position paper to bring notice to the public. As stewards of this great, public forest reservation, we believe it is our duty to shed light on any potential impacts from such proposed projects and in this case to advocate strongly for the continuation of over five decades of meadow restoration work at this pollinator and bird sanctuary.
We have met with the hockey rink developers and the Commissioner of DCR, and we have agreed that a public forum would be important for allowing the public’s voice to be heard regarding this important issue regarding the future of the Fells Reservation.
We will keep you informed over the weeks and months ahead. We look forward to your thoughts and comments. If anyone wants to be more active in opposing such a development, please get in touch with Ron.Morin@fells.org
Sincerely,
Ron Morin
Executive Director, Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation
For more background, find our landing page on the 90mm site here.