Friends of the Fells

Welcome to the website of the Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Our mission is to protect and preserve the natural and historic resources of the 2500 acres of the Fells through public outreach and support. Contact us at: friends@fells.org 781/662-2340. It's easy to become a member.

Calendar and Newsletter Issues!

Note: Calendars and Newsletters are available as easy to read Adobe® PDF files; if your computer needs the PDF Reader it is available free here

Summer 2010 Newsletter/Calendar click here

THE FELLS - A NATURAL TREASURE

Visit www.FoundintheFells.com to help you identify the notable flowers and plants on your next Fells visit.

Wright’s Tower reopened for the Summer

Wright's Tower is open to the public in June, July, and August, 9am-5pm. The Tower can be accessed from Bellevue Pond [see map here] parking area on S. Border Rd, Medford, and offers views of the Boston skyline and surrounding Middlesex Fells Reservation. Note: The tower will remain locked in adverse weather conditions.

Fells Lecture Series – Upcoming Events

Note: Lecture events will take place at the newly renovated Botume House, 4 Woodland Rd., Stoneham. Please call (781) 662-2340 for more information and (617) 727- 1190 for directions.

Tuesday, August 3 7:30 - 9:00pm Social Life in the Fells: Local Ants and their Biology

David Lubertazzi The most visible ants in the Fells Reservation only hint at the diversity and interesting natural history exhibited by the species living here. David Lubertazzi, a researcher at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, will speak about our local species and their biology. Location: Botume House, 4 Woodland Rd., Stoneham. Please call (781) 662-2340 for more information and (617) 727-1190 for directions.

With thanks to the staff of the Department of Conservation and Recreation for their help and support for the Fells Lecture Series!

New Friends of Fells T-shirts now available!

For details click here

Upcoming Events

Scroll down for hikes!

Fells Lecture Series – Next Event

We invite you to join us for this free event to learn more about the Fells!

Note: Additional Fells Lecture topics and dates are listed at the bottom of the column on the left! or click here

For Babes in the Woods

hikes & strolls click here

Fells Hikes and Events

Hikes and events are free of charge and do not require registration

New Program Note: Hike n’ Carry. Linda Schwetz and Rich Sanford will lead family-oriented trail clean-up hikes and introduce new areas of the Fells each Sunday in May and bi-weekly beginning June 6th.. Are you looking for a family outing in the Fells? Or, a means to give back to the community? You are invited to join Rich and Linda for Fells clean up hikes! Gloves and trash bags will be provided. If you need community-service hours for school each outing will provide you two verified hours.

For Maps and Directions for specific hike and event locations you may click here.

Hike the Southern Fells Saturday, July 24 10:00am to 12:30pm

Leader: Dan Sumorok Join Dan Sumorok on a hiking tour of the southernmost part of the Fells on the Skyline, Reservoir, and Cross Fells trails. The walk will end with a visit to Pine Hill and Wright’s Tower, where the view includes Medford, Boston, and the Blue Hills in the distance. The trails are steep and rocky in places. Wear sturdy boots and bring food and at least a liter of water. Meet at the Bellevue Pond parking area, South Border Rd., Medford. Rain cancels.

DCR Rangers Hike Saturday July 24, 10:00am - 1:00pm

Leader: DCR Ranger Advanced level hike covers several miles and may be too streuous for children under 10. No dogs, please. Meet at Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham. For more information call 781.233.0834

Hike n’ Carry at Virginia Wood Sunday, July 25 2:00 to 4:00pm

Leader: Rich Sanford Join Rich for an all-ages hike and trail clean up on the Virginia Wood Historic Trail. Strollers are not recommended. Bags, gloves, and verification of two community service hours will be provided. Meet at the Virginia Wood parking lot, intersection of Woodland Rd. and Pond St., Stoneham. Rain cancels.

Summer Wildflowers at Bellevue Pond Wednesday, August 4 9:15 to 11:30am

Leader: Boot Boutwell Join Boot Boutwell in search of mid-summer wildflowers at Bellevue Pond. The walk will focus on plant ID as well as fun and interesting natural history. Meet at Bellevue Pond parking area, South Border Rd. in Medford. Steady rain cancels.

Photography Discovery Hike Saturday, August 7 9:00 to 11:00am

Leader: Mike Ryan Join professional photographer and Friends of the Fells Executive Director Mike Ryan for a walk in search of photographic opportunities—water bodies and other natural features—in the eastern Fells. Remember your sturdy footwear, camera, and a notepad. Meet at the Flynn Rink parking lot at the intersection of Elm St. and Woodland Rd., Medford. Heavy rain cancels.

Hike n’ Carry at Greenwood Park Sunday, August 8 2:00 to 4:00pm

Leader: Rich Sanford Join Rich for an all-ages hike and trail clean up starting at Greenwood Park. Bags, gloves, and verification of two community service hours will be provided. Meet at the Greenwood Park parking lot, Pond St., Stoneham across from the Stone Zoo. Rain cancels.

Hike n’ Carry at Panther Cave Sunday, August 22 2:00 to 4:00pm

Leader: Rich Sanford Join Rich for an all-ages hike and trail clean up in the southern Fells. Strollers are not recommended. Bags, gloves, and verification of two community service hours will be provided. Meet at the parking area between gates 6 and 7, across South Border Rd. from Jeremiah Circle, Medford. Rain cancels.

Art in the Woods Wednesday, August 25 10:00am to 11:30am

Leader: Dominica Nichols Join hike program coordinator Dominica Nichols for an all-ages artistic adventure in the Fells. Bring a sketch book/journal, your writing or drawing supplies, and an open mind. We’ll circle the pond together, and then you’ll stake out your artistic spot to start creating. We’ll end our time together with a hike up Pine Hill and optional show-and-tell. Meet at the Bellevue Pond parking area, South Border Rd., Medford. Rain cancels.

DCR Rangers Hike Sunday August 29, 10:00am - 1:00pm

Virginia Wood Photos Mike Ryan

Family hike at Bellevue Pond

“What we wanted in the Fells was a bit of Nature in our midst that we might watch its workings...We wanted our tree covered rocks and cliffs that these might lift themselves up by friendly trunks and swing themselves down by branches...we wanted dark, crowded places, even jungles, that we might press through them and come out upon wild pictures which we had never dreamed were there.”

[Ellen Wright, 1906]

2060 ACRES, DON'T GET LOST!

Purchase a map for your next visit and support the efforts of the Friends of the Fells.
Maps may be purchased.

Alert: Environmental groups call on state to protect Fells Reservation resources

Four leading Massachusetts environmental groups have called upon the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to suspend its current Middlesex Fells Trails Planning process and to fast-track a full Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Fells Reservation.

In a May 28, 2010 letter to DCR Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan, the Massachusetts Sierra Club, the Mass Audubon Society, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and Environment Massachusetts declared that, “If any property calls for a complete Resource Management Plan (RMP) to inform both recreation planning and natural resources management, it is the Fells. With over 100 miles of trails already existing on 2,500 acres containing unusual botanical diversity and over 100 vernal pools, recreational planning at the Fells needs to be fully integrated with resource stewardship as called for in MGL Ch. 21 S. 2F.”

The stakes couldn’t be higher. The features of a rare natural oasis – which for over a century has provided generations of visitors with respite from the noise and confusion of urban life – will be threatened without a full assessment of impacts from changes being proposed for use of the Fells Reservation.

Plans under consideration by DCR would create new trail uses without complete assessment of environmental impact on plant life and animal habitats. This will further destroy the ‘wildness’ of the natural resources of the Fells already impacted by a plethora of illegal trails, many created by irresponsible mountain bikers.

Under Massachusetts’ law, to protect natural resources the DCR is required to implement a Resource Management Plan for each of its parks and forests.

A Fells RMP requires that trail and resource planning involve all stakeholders who value the Reservation and are involved in a wide variety of uses, ranging from hiking, bird watching, scouting, aesthetic enjoyment, water resource protection, etc. The DCR’s current Fells Trails Planning process, in sharp contrast, has left Fells many visitors and groups completely unaware of the process.

The environmental groups’ letter emphasizes that the first priority for DCR must be to stem Fells resource damage being caused by lack of enforcement,

“…given the anecdotal knowledge and evidence on the ground of widespread illegal use and the absence of DCR enforcement, it is difficult to justify opening or constructing new trails without a demonstration that DCR has the ability to enforce recreation policies and rules at the Fells. The first priority should be closing of unapproved and illegal trails, improved signage and education, and enforcement of the existing rules.”

The letter cites more than two decades of Fells regulations not being enforced, leading to “…long and widely recognized history of user conflict, renegade activities by an array of user types, and little management presence at a property that is also generally recognized to have significant natural resources.”

Consequently, there are now scores of illegal trails through environmentally sensitive habitats. Additionally, illegal biking on hiking-only trails is displacing hikers from these trails decreasing the ability of visitors to enjoy nature in quiet and safety.

The Friends of Fells fully support the recommendations made by the Commonwealth’s environmental groups in their letter: "We urge DCR to suspend the Middlesex Fells Trail System Plan until an RMP is prepared; and to avoid further undue delay in addressing issues at the Fells, we urge the RMP be prepared within the next year."

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) should immediately suspend its current Fells Trails Planning process and implement an all-encompassing Resource Management Plan to ensure protection of the resources of the Fells Reservation.

Taking Action
The future of the Fells Reservation depends on us! Persons who wish to assist in the campaign for ensuring the DCR completes a full Resource Management Plan for the Fells can email; friends@fells.org ; call 781-662-2340 or write the Friends of Fells, PO Box 478, Stoneham MA 02180

The Friends of Fells calls upon all who are concerned with the Fells Reservation remaining a biodiverse oasis of nature for the enjoyment of all to join in the demand that a Fells Reservation Resource Management Plan be implemented instead of the current Fells Trails Planning process.

• Contact your legislators.
• Write DCR Commissioner Rick.Sullivan@state.ma.us
Department of Conservation, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114

• Write letter to editor of your local newspaper.
• Contact Friends of Fells to volunteer to take part in the Fells Resource Protection Campaign.

• Join the Friends of the Fells!
Please send the Friends of the Fells a copy of your comments, either by email friends@fells.org or surface mail: PO Box 478, Stoneham MA, 02180

Thank you!

Fells case court appeal to be filed

The Friends of the Fells, along with the City of Medford and several private citizens, are moving closer to filing an appeal in state court seeking to reverse the March 31 ruling of a Superior Court judge who dismissed a 2009 lawsuit. That suit describes how an advisory opinion and arrangements made between state agencies and the Langwood Commons developers (named as defendants in the case) violate state environmental laws and threaten the scenic and historic character of the Fells’ parkways.

The Friends and City of Medford believe that the Superior Court judge did not apply the proper standard in his review of the defendants’ motions to dismiss, and expect that a higher court will undertake a more careful review of the complaint and applicable case law and reverse the lower court decision.

Although the complaint and other pleadings were extensive and presented detailed factual and legal grounds for the case, the Friends and other plaintiffs are frustrated that the judge neither offered any written opinion to explain the basis for the action nor offered a review showing how the standards for evaluating such a motion were applied in this specific case. At issue is the failure of the Department
of Conservation and Recreation and Secretary of Environment Ian Bowles to enforce state law that preserves and protects the scenic and historic features of the Fells’ parkways from excessive modifications intended to accommodate major increases in traffic from a proposed housing and office redevelopment in the heart of the Fells Reservation. The complaint was brought to challenge a jurisdictional opinion issued by Secretary Bowles that blessed an arrangement between DCR and the developers in which the developers are allowed to proceed without having to complete a state environmental impact review by MEPA and the Massachusetts Historic Commission regarding the parkway modifications for their traffic.

As Fells Reservation supporters have consistently maintained for ten years, these reviews are needed to determine how much additional traffic from the development can be accommodated without harming the scenic and historic character of the Fells’ parkways.

It is expected that the higher court will undertake an independent review of the case and issue a decision before the end of the year.