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The Town of Concord plans to build athletic fields on an integral part of Historic Walden Woods - a tract of woodland on Brister's Hill that Henry David Thoreau, America's preeminent philosopher, named Deep Cut Woods. 1. A proposed project to use public money to build athletic fields on public lands must have public involvement - something the ad hoc committees have not allowed for. The ad hoc Field Development Group and Concord Playing Fields Steering Committee worked in closed conjunction with the town manager to site the proposed fields did not post its meeting dates or its meeting notes, and has operated in virtual secrecy. The site selection process has not allowed the opportunity for any public scrutiny or public attendance at meetings. There has been no opportunity for alternative sites, on or off the High School Campus, to be considered at public hearings or other public venues. The ad hoc committees have circumvented the democratic process as established by law and long-standing town custom. Further, the ad hoc committees' promise that anonymous private donations would help defray the cost of the project is suspect, as anonymous donors have allegedly threatened that their money would "walk" if the Community Preservation Committee did not vote to support the playing fields application. If a donor's true concern is a lack of playing fields, it is highly questionable that they would demand the destruction of a historic Woods and the use of CPA funds when other, more appropriate sites are available. The citizens of Concord have a right to know whose money is involved. 2. Bulldozing the woods to build athletic fields before the Master Plan is finalized is letting the tail wag the dog. A coordinated Master Plan for the replacement of the Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, the athletic fields, and all other needed features is required. The existing school, a sprawling structure built from the blueprint of a 1950s California school, occupies a very large footprint that a modern design would likely reduce by at least a third. Even if an accelerated schedule for new fields does not allow for awaiting a sound Master Plan for the Campus, alternate sites exist that could meet the schedule, as the 94-acre Campus has many acres of lawn and fields that would be more suitable locations for the proposed fields. Integrated planning for the fields and the High School will yield a less costly project, with less effect on the Woods and other natural resources on and near the Campus. The Natural Resources Commission and the Concord Planning Department both have recommended but, unfortunately, have not insisted, that the fields be moved out of the Woods and that the location of any new fields be coordinated with an overall High School Campus Plan. Current High School fields should be renovated while we await final approval of the Master Plan. School enrollment statistics and projections (courtesy of the Concord-Carlisle School Committee) illustrate our belief that the need for playing fields is not expected to increase. Grade school and middle school student enrollments peaked in 2000 and have been dropping since that time. The enrollment drop from the 2006-07 school year to the 2011-2012 school year is projected to be 9.9% for Concord and 10.9% for Concord and Carlisle combined.
4. There are better locations to build new athletic fields. A 2002 Athletic Fields Study by Sasaki and Associates identified as many as 30 potential sites for athletic fields in Concord. The Deep Cut Woods site was not among them. Many of these sites are already disturbed and could be used without destroying over eight acres of mature forest and the cost for developing these sites could be substantially less than the cost of putting the fields in Deep Cut Woods. The cost of grading the site alone will add significantly to the ad hoc committees' estimated cost of building the fields, according to independent engineers. 5. The proposal calls for the installation of artificial turf, which a majority of athletes worldwide, including National Football League players and professional soccer players, don't like because of higher injury rates and fatigue factors. Artificial turf is environmentally inferior, potentially hazardous, and dangerous to players due to excessive heat and dust buildup. Artificial turf creates islands of heat, which are damaging to players and the environment. On summer days, the surface temperature of synthetic fields may be 120 to 150 degrees; at the University of Missouri on a 98-degree day the temperature of the synthetic field was 173 degrees. In some places on hot days kids have to be evacuated from the synthetic fields every 20 minutes so that the surface can be water cooled. The turf actually increases the carbon footprint, exactly the wrong direction in the age of global warming. In hot weather the turf fibers and the rubber crumb cushioning, from discarded tires, break down into dust which is inhaled or absorbed by players, posing health risks; these materials also contain carcinogens. Natural grass is microbial and self-cleaning; artificial turf retains the blood, sweat, spit, bird and animal feces and urine which are deposited on every playing field, and must be constantly cleaned and disinfected. The artificial fields are by no means low-maintenance. Is this the type of material we should be putting in the Groundwater Conservancy District? For more information please visit www.synturf.org Furthermore, it would be the ultimate insult to Thoreau's legacy to destroy the Woods and cover the earth with damaging synthetic materials. 6. Walkers, joggers, saunterers, bird-watchers, meditators, cross-country skiers, and the high school cross-country team use the woods for recreation and competition. The cross-country course that winds through the varied terrain of Deep Cut Woods has been called one of the best in the state. For many Concordians, young and old, the Woods offer an accessible refuge for quiet recreation in many forms. 7. The woods are part of a wildlife corridor, home to many birds and animals. This area was identified in the Concord Open Space and Recreation Plan 2004 as part of a major wildlife corridor for animals traveling to and from adjacent open space areas such as Fairyland and the section of Walden Woods south of Route 2 . The Plan recommended that "high priority should be given to the protection" of such key habitat links. The area was walked in March, 2007 by a wildlife biologist/tracker who reported that the site "is providing significant wildlife habitat for numerous mammal and avian species. The site has many mast producing trees such as oaks, white pines, and valuable conifer nesting habitat for owls and hawks, and significant snag and downed-log habitat." The biologist identified the scat of fishers, coyotes, and hawks and at least five large twig nests of the type constructed by owls and/or hawks. 8. The woods are on Brister's Hill, written about by H.D. Thoreau and named for Brister Freeman, a former slave who settled in Concord after serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Brister Freeman's thirty-year residence in Concord is another page of American history that should be treasured and honored by keeping the Woods intact. 9. The woods are part of Walden Woods, despite misinformation to the contrary. There's only one Walden Woods, and they are a priceless natural heirloom known the world around. The National Trust for Historic Preservation lists the entire 2,680 acres of Walden Woods as one of the most endangered resources in the nation. All town maps drawn prior to the construction of Route 2 show that what Thoreau called Deep Cut Woods is a contiguous and integral part of Walden Woods. Aerial photos corroborate this. The exact boundary of Walden Woods was determined using geological, soils, and ecological relationships, which are reflected in the tract's historic land use and in historical, cultural, and literary documents. This is the Walden Woods Thoreau wished preserved as a woodland park, "a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation."
Please vote NO to stop plans to build expensive, artificial, lighted fields in Walden Woods. |
