Chronicle Editorial Nov. 6, challenges us to respond to climate change, both municipally, and with personal obligations, and find balance between human needs of development and environmental protection that is eroding according to recent reports. This challenge echoes Obama's recent Executive report on natural resources protection, and the Intergovernmental UN Report (IPPC): "The gathering risks of climate change are so profound they could stall or even reverse generations of progress against poverty and hunger if greenhouse gas emissions continue at a runaway pace.”

** Enhancing the Climate Resilience of America's Natural Resources Report, emanating from the Executive Office, focuses on green storm water management solutions, using biological carbon via good management. "Our rivers and streams are in peril during droughts from low flows, wetlands and dunces in decline, and 81 million acres of national forests are at risk because of pests and pathogens”, says the report. "Biological diversity is essential to ecological resilience…”

These ideals contrast with Cambridge and Belmont policy to allow the Firm's removal of a large part of the floodplain region's only 15 acre unique forest The clear cutting of hundreds of trees by the O'Neill AP Cambridge Partners LLC II, eliminated a major floodplain carbon sink and wildlife refuge which functioned well over the last 60 years.

The Executive and UN reports underscore failure of Alewife municipalities to give value to their heavily vegetated forested boundaries, poorly delineated between private and public floodplain, that contain indisputable rare natural resources and wildlife, away from the inner city. But residents and students know of the 130 acre DCR Reservation and surrounding resource values primarily from activities of Friends of Alewife Reservation, and also Belmont Citizens Forum and the Cambridge Schools' Maynard Ecology Center.

The Belmont Uplands silver maple forest with 3 acres in Cambridge at the confluence of Cambridge, Belmont and Arlington was first permitted by Cambridge in January of 2008 while the Belmont Conservation Commission was in court clearly against the owner's application via testimonies from local scientists, some of whom testified at Leland Cheung's Environmental Hearing in October and covered well by The Chronicle. However, much of the increased rain data information and impacts of hurricane Sandy became known far after major permits were granted. But the City Council has long favored Alewife protection, despite the proliferation of permits for several thousand units during the last year. City Councilors between 2002 and 2013 passed 7 resolutions for the area with 4 city Environmental Hearings (2003, 06, 13, 14) supporting preservation of the area.

Cambridge granted its permit for habitat replication area and storm water discharge pipe from the pending building and removes about a third of the storm water from underground basins, parking lots and roads that contain salt, sand, oil. In a 25 year storm, according to HydroAnalysis Inc. the model prediction is approximately 100, thousand gallons will dump the polluted water into Cambridge wetlands leaching into the river.

If continued neglect remains the rivers and streams could be a death trap for wild animals and birds and domestic pets, with pathogens and for e-coli flowing through these communities. Alewife Brook and Little River area are one of the most impaired water bodies in the 74 square mile Mystic River watershed, but could evolve further into a protected floodplain safety net and environmental wildlife refuge and learning center for future generations to come.

The 150 million dollar storm water project is not fully operating and has produced a number of dead animal warnings, and general water quality warnings from Mystic River Watershed Association. A Federal Court Order law suit remains for Cambridge and MWRA because of incomplete sewer separation but local agencies are committed to clean up by 2015 as part of commitment to US - EPA and Federal Clean Water Act. Permitting the Uplands owner to dump more pollution into the watershed does not make sense and a red flag concern is up in west Cambridge neighborhoods because of it.

The newly created Silver Maple Forest Alliance made up of 8 organizational representatives continues its regional conservation campaign to preserve this needed regional climate "adaptation” floodplain area and welcomes participation to protect the remaining urban wild resources after much of the rare silver maple forest has been cut down. Call : Friends of Alewife Reservation 617 415-1884 for more information.

** This report was written by US Army Corps, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Agriculture, Federal Emergency Management Agency, US- EPA, NOAA,

Ellen Mass- Cambridge
Kathy Johnson – Cambridge
Kathy and John Roberts- Cambridge
Deborah Lockett- Belmont
Quinton Zondervan- Cambridge
Amy Mertl- Somerville