Report: Middlesex Fells Feeling Development Threat
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Boston, MA – The Middlesex Fells may be in need of an environmental movement reminiscent of the 1800s. Concerned citizens banded together to protect the land from development back then, and a new report says the Fells is facing similar threats today. The Sierra Club has published a report highlighting public lands nationwide that are in need of protection. Myke Bybee, author of the "52 Places" report, says the Fells was picked for a number of reasons.
"Being so close to an urban center, pressures from development and from air pollution, among other things, are very, very real."
Simpson Housing owns a portion of land inside the park, and wants approval from the state to build about 400 housing units on the property. Bybee worries development could also require more roads be built to accommodate traffic flow from as many as 8,000 more cars a day.
The Middlesex Fells is part of the nation's oldest metropolitan park system, and Bybee says it's symbolic for the rest of the country.
"Citizens came together and decided that this was a place that they should protect. It then became the model for much of the urban parks systems across the country."
The entire "52 Places" report can be found on the group's website, http://www.sierraclub.org.
get more stories like this via email
United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…
Social Issues
The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …
Environment
Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …
Environment
April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …
Health and Wellness
The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …
Environment
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …