ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE |
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MASSACHUSETTS
SIERRA CLUB
10 Milk Street, Ste 632, Boston, MA 02108-4621 | Ph:617.423.5775 | Fax:617.890.0338 |
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Greylock
Glen as it exists now is a delightful and varied combination of fields,
woods, brooks and wetlands. There are rare species and old trees. What
the Glen needs is protection - from development and misuse. Most development
should happen in the town, preserving the magic of Greylock Glen for present
and future generations.
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WHAT'S
NEW
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Greylock
Glen
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In early 2004, the Commonwealth introduced a new Master Plan for the Greylock Glen and sought proposals to build it. The focus is on environmental education, outdoor recreation, "sustainability" and "green technology." The development area is limited to 50 acres. The Plan prohibits golf, housing, downhill skiing and major commercial development. The Sierra Club called for permanent protection for the undeveloped parcels (by permanent conservation restrictions or easements, or by adding the land to the adjacent Mt Greylock State Reservation) in order to guarantee the proper stewardship of the Glen. |
Chapter 676 of the Acts of 1985 created the Greylock Glen concept: a development at the foot of the Commonwealth's highest peak, Mt. Greylock, and adjacent to the state's oldest Reservation, the Mt. Greylock State Reservation. The plan was intended to protect the mountain and reservation from inappropriate privately-funded development (including a downhill ski resort) and provide economic stimulus to the region by creating a "private-public" partnership to develop a recreation-based project on this site. The state took the property by eminent domain and sought to develop the land. The Sierra Club took up the challenge shortly thereafter, when the first proposal mushroomed into a huge resort, and has stayed involved ever since. Two major proposals have gone down to defeat, one at the end of the Dukakis administration in the late 1980s, the other in the late 90s at the end of the Swift administration. Having spent two decades, and most (if not all) of the money originally allocated for this project, the Commonwealth is now proposing a much more modest-sized development: "The Greylock Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Center Facility." |
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WHAT YOU CAN DO |
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| The deadline for proposals for the new incarnation of Greylock Glen was mid-July. The Club will be reviewing proposals to determine if there are good ones to support or bad ones we need to oppose. Contact the Club if you want to be involved on this issue. | |||||||||||||||||
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