Friends of Alewife Reservation (FAR)
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Silver Maple Forest Action All Day Event June 14 For Immediate Release: 24 May 2013 Contact: Quinton Zondervan 617-520-4720 president@greencambridge.org Run through: 14 June 2013 Action to Save Silver Maple Forest Friday 14 June, 2013 7:00am A Silver Maple Forest day of action will take place at the Alewife MBTA Station and Acorn Park Drive on Friday, June 14th, 7:00am-9:00pm. A 3-City coalition of activists will spend the day educating citizens about their concerns with a dangerous, illegal wetlands development proposed for the area. All are welcome to participate in this peaceful gathering. Replacing this large and unique natural forest in the Boston area with condominiums would represent a critical loss of natural habitat to the area. Continuous appeals by the citizen-based Belmont Coalition and Friends of Alewife Reservation, who are both plaintiffs in an active lawsuit to stop this development, have kept the trees standing. There is an important court judgment pending. Many local organizations, environmentalists and residents are greatly concerned about the impacts of a proposed housing development on the Belmont Uplands, a beautiful forested area within the fragile, Alewife ecosystem. The concerns about the planned development are thoroughly documented: huge traffic problems; garbage dumping; and water quality will all be negatively affected. Even more significant will be the predicted flooding in the Alewife area, the compromise of biodiversity, loss of open space, and wildlife and habitat destruction. Clear-cutting most of the forest would be required to accommodate the proposed ‘improvement.’ This threatened forest connects with many acres of Cambridge wetlands and is a rich wildlife corridor through Cambridge, Belmont and Arlington. It includes the Little River that flows through the Route 16 greenway north to the Mystic River. Green Cambridge is organizing this day of action to help bring recognition and urgency to the work of the many courageous individuals and groups who have been working for years to preserve this important urban wild, including: Coalition to Preserve Belmont Uplands, Friends of Alewife Reservation, Sustainable Arlington, the Belmont Citizens Forum, First Parish Cambridge, First Parish in Arlington, Boston Sierra Club, Lesley University, Mystic River Watershed Association, Belmont Conservation Commission and The City of Cambridge. All are welcome to participate for all or any part of the day’s action. Contact president@greencambridge.org For more information: http://friendsofalewifereservation.org/news.htm#forests |