![]() ![]() He told the Sentinel & Enterprise that officials at Quabbin allow limited recreational use on the land. Quabbin Reservoir, where Boston residents get there drinking-water supply. Thomas Kyker-Snowman, environmental analyst in the natural resource section of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, helps to manage the He said the roads, including Piper Road and Rindge Road, could act as a good parameter of where recreational use is allowed. The people interested in this place would respect it.”īrown said he thinks a buffer zone needs to be installed to restrict recreational access close to the water areas. “It has a tendency to be maintained,” she said. Morrison said with increased recreational use there may be increased garbage, but there would also be more people who would be willing to pick up the trash. People are right to be concerned about exactly what will be allowed on the land.īut careful planning and consistent policing of the land will protect it, while allowing people from all over the state, who are after all paying so the land won’t be developed, to use the land for recreational purposes. While the land may not be economically feasible for development now, one day in the future it could be. ![]() “The less development the better, and one sure way to guarantee no development is a permanent conservation restriction. ![]() “You’re protecting land that draws into the source you’re drawing from,” she said.Īl Futterman, the Nashua River Watershed Association’s land programs director, said the organization supports the conservation restriction because it would protect the water quality. Morrison said restricting the land and preventing development will permanently protect the city’s drinking-water supply. “It’s a unique landscape here,” Morrison said during a tour of the land. “These are special types of habitats, we should know more about it,” she said. She wants some studies to be done by professional environmentalists to give recommendations on what recreation should be allowed and where. Janet Morrison, executive director of the North County Land Trust, said she’s also concerned about the impact recreational use could have on the land. Mayor Lisa Wong said how much land is restricted, how much recreational use would be allowed and where, is all being considered and negotiated between the state and city. He just wants to make sure it’s not damaging the loons, or any of the other habitats in the area. Brown, a hunter himself, said he wants public access to the land. It would also provide public access to the land for non-motorized recreational use, such as hunting, fishing, bird watching and hiking. “In a way that makes sense that isn’t going to stress the land.”īrown said the Fitchburg Reservoir, located in Ashby, is one of only a handful of locations in the state that provide a nesting habitat for a pair of loons.Īs part of the state’s purchasing of a conservation restriction, the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife would permanently protect the city-owned land from development. “I’m worried about providing access in a responsible way,” he said. Ken Brown, an Ashby resident, said the state’s proposal to purchase a conservation restriction on the densely wooded area and open it up for recreational use needs to be done thoughtfully. The only question, as several people raised in last Sunday’s story in the Sentinel & Enterprise, is what recreation should be allowed on the land, and where on the land should it be allowed. This could really put Fitchburg on the map when it comes to outdoor entertainment. The money the city of Fitchburg receives from the state - if it adopts a conservation restriction for the 1,700 acres - although desperately needed at this time, is not as important in the long run as the ability for the city to protect the land from development and open up the land for recreation. The city of Fitchburg is poised to negotiate up to a six-figure settlement with the state that will also allow it to protect 1,700 pristine acres from development, which would also protect the city’s water from contamination. ![]()
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