P O R T F O L I O
Corrin Meise-Munns Ecological Planning & Design (603) 748-4107 | corrin.mm@gmail.com
Corrin Meise-Munns As an ecological designer and planner, I know that all projects, no matter the scale, have the opportunity to benefit both people and the ecosystems of which we are a part. I believe that with intentional, whole systems design, we can establish systems of vibrant neighborhoods and healthy communities. Because our health and quality of life depend upon ecosystem services, my designs enhance urban green infrastructure and support systems of economic, social, and environmental resiliency. True vitality in design cannot exist without the support and care of the community, and my process is based in participatory engagement. Charrettes, forums, and intentional listening inform my designs with a diversity of expression, relationships, and landscapes. I practice place-based design, and produce solutions that celebrate and augment a location’s unique history, culture, and context. By re-imagining place as the heart of home and community, we can encourage ourselves to steward our natural environment and our relationships with each other.
Contents Project Cutsheets 4 Concepts & Practice 13 Enhancing Urban Ecosystem Services Engaging a Sense of Place Community Engagement Writing Sample 25 Pittsfield Executive Summary: Planning Document
PRO
OJECT CUTSHEETS
Suburban Backyard Retreat Project Cutsheets
SketchUp based analysis guided selective tree removal to optimize sun in the backyard with minimal ecological impact.
Residential Schematic Design, Longmeadow, MA The Conway School, Fall 2015 This sustainable, low maintenance design emphasizes the social, recreational, and aesthetic values of the client. The design proposal enhances privacy while addressing the site challenges of a steep backyard slope and proximity to an interstate highway. In the front yard, a native woodland garden enlivens the entry to the home and makes use of the shade from the existing canopy of mature oak. A native wildflower and grass meadow stabilizes the regraded slope in the rear of the property. Native shrubs and evergreens add seasonal interest and habitat value while screening the view of the abutting highway. With an increased amount of level lawn space, the backyard features a set of tiered terraces for a patio and pool deck.
Axonometric of pool, patio, and level backyard
Site Assets Diagram Majestic mature oak canopy Curving drive adds sense of mystery to arrival Hand-stacked stone retaining wall
Established ornamental perennial beds
Before & After Photoshop Rendering
Site Constraints Diagram
Noise from I-91 Retaining wall acts as dam in yard
Steep slope
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Canopy shades majority of property
CAD-drafted basemap with contours produced from surveying the site with robotics.
Schematic design with proposed grading plan Azalea allĂŠe
Native woodland garden
Patio & pool deck
Regraded back lawn Mixed native meadow
Native woodland garden
Evergreen visual screen Japanese garden
Cross section of schematic design
Regraded backyard 10
Native woodland entry garden with formal path 20
Pool terrace Evergreen visual screen
Mixed native meadow and evergreen deciduous screen
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Project Cutsheets
A Vision for Pittsfield’s Conservation Areas: Linking Landscape & Community Prepared for the City of Pittsfield, MA Conservation Commission The Conway School, Winter 2016 Corrin Meise-Munns & Miranda Feldmann The City of Pittsfield is in the midst of an economic and cultural revitalization, and has recognized the need for a conservation area management plan to safeguard their sense of place as a “city in the country.” Commissioned by Pittsfield’s Conservation Commission, A Vision for Pittsfield’s Conservation Areas is a strategic planning document that considers each of the city’s four largest conservation property’s history of use and development, defines existing assets, and identifies gaps in community and ecological needs. Integrating community meetings and input, site analysis, GIS-based mapping and assessment, and guidance from the City’s Master Plan, my partner and I developed recommendations towards the holistic management of both specific properties and the City’s conservation areas as a whole.
The recommendations provided in the document resulted from listening to the needs of the client and community, and thorough site analysis.
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Analysis included access to conservation areas for Environmental Justice populations.
Wetland
Farmland Designation Statewide importance Unique importance
Soil Type & Slope
Amenia silt loam, 8-15% Nellis loam, 8-15%
Palms and Carlisle mucks, 0-1% Pittsfield loam, 3-8%
Land cover overlays identify priority areas of8-15% Pittsfield loam, educational or conservation value
Legend
0
0.05
0.1
Miles 0.2
Coniferous Forest
Shrub Swamp
Herbaceous Wetland
Deciduous Forest
Open Water
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0
0.05
0.1
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0 0.25 0.5
Miles 0.2
Legend
Legend Conservation Areas of Interest
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0
0.5
1
Miles 2
River or Stream Pond or Lake
Open Space Protected in Perpetuity BioMap2 Core Habitat
BioMap2 Critical Natural Landscape
Priority Natural Communities
Scrub/Shrub
Environmental justice populations & accessibility
Pond or Lake
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Black ash-red maple-tamarack calcareous seepage swamp Calcareous sloping fen
Major-river floodplain forest
Red oak-sugar maple transition forest Transitional floodplain forest
Service Layer Credits: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community
Impervious surface, land cover, & watershed subbasins
Perennial Stream
Existing and potential areas of habitat connectivity
Legend
Critical habitat / priority natural communities
Site specific soils & suitability for agriculture
Private property, wetland communities, & buffers
GIS-based analysis and overlays aided site assessment pattern recognition across a broad scale.
River or Stream Pond or Lake
Wetland Buffer 100 ft Deep Marsh
Shrub Swamp
Wooded Swamp Deciduous Abutting Property Lines
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1.5
Miles 2
Legend Conservation Areas of Interest Road
State Highway
Medium and High Density Development
Environmental Justice Populations Population by Income
Population by Minority & Income Service Layer Credits: Content may not reflect National Geographic's current map policy. Sources: National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, HERE, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, increment P Corp.
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Project Cutsheets
Capturing Lincoln’s Sense of Place: A Vision for Lincoln Station
Customers and Visitors to Lincoln Station Lack Adequate & Attractive Seating and Gathering Spaces
Prepared for the Town of Lincoln, MA Planning Department The Conway School, Spring 2016 Corrin Meise-Munns & Margot Halpin Lincoln Station is a four-acre mall within the Town of Lincoln’s downtown commercial district. Owned by a conservation nonprofit, the mall is currently lagging in consumer sales and struggling to compete with larger commercial centers in neighboring towns. The town’s planning department commissioned Capturing Lincoln’s Sense of Place as a site redesign, intended to make the mall more inviting, and as a strategic planning document focused on economic development and creating a greener, more walkable commercial district. Drawing on research from previous planning documents and incorporating stakeholder charrettes and engagement, placemaking theory, and Complete Streets techniques, my partner and I created a site plan designed to engage residents in a community setting and rebrand Lincoln Station as a “third place” for social gathering outside of home and work. Planning recommendations include creating a strong brand identity by emphasizing Lincoln Station’s unique connection with the town’s conservation ethic and rural aesthetic, re-programming the mall’s businesses to cater to the town’s social needs, and strengthening connections to local cultural and recreational attractions.
Viewsheds into Lincoln Station are Car Dominated & Unwelcoming
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Cultural, Historical, & Recreational Attractions within a Mile of Lincoln Station
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Woods End Historic District
Mass Audubon
Gropius House Lincoln Schools Lincoln Historic District Beaver Pond
Mass Audubon
MBTA
Rail an
d Platfo
rm
Mt. Misery
Lincoln Road
Tower Hill Conservation Area
Initial Concept Diagrams
Schematic Design
Henslow’s sparrow local endangered species
Pedestrian gateways with wayfinding signs
A Bioswale with raised boardwalk
Interpretive Henslow’s sparrow habitat
Speed tables throughout
A’
Native planted embankment
Crushed sandstone paths & patios with Parisian bistro tables
Cafe seating & beer garden De-paved parking area for added pedestrian space
B’
B
1-way traffic offers space for vegetated pedestrian buffers
Legend River or Stream Pond, Lake, or Reservoir Wetland Lincoln Public Trails All Other Conservation Land
LLCT & RLF Conservation Land Multi-use low-mow Station lawn with slopedLincoln stage Lincoln Boundary and seating area
Cross Section A-A’: The Bioswale Path Through the Parking Lot Enhances Pedestrian Experience
A North End of
Main Drive in Parking Lot
Grass & Wildflower Embankment (12% slope)
Bioretention Soil (3’ depth) Gravel Filtration (8” deep)
X
0
30 0.5
Feet Miles 160
Cross Section B-B’: A Multi-Functional Lawn Provides Space to Socialize & People-Watch
Boardwalk (18” high)
Grass & Wildflower Filter Strip (6% slope)
Gravel Diaphragm (1’ depth)
Parking Strip A’ with Granite Wheel Stop
B
Low-mow lawn (at existing grade)
Wood stage / Low-mow gathering area slope leading to with stone retaining wall stage and stairs (16% Slope) (18” above grade)
Low-mow lawn B’ (at existing grade)
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CONC
CEPTS / PRACTICE
Enhancing Urban Ecosystem Services / Concepts / Practice
Exploration of Urban Residential Stormwater Management & Canopy Cover
Sketchbook As an ecological designer, my work focuses on supporting and revitalizing environmental benefits in urban and suburban areas for social, economic, and environmental health. On this page, I have compiled from my sketchbook explorations and explanations of urban ecosystem services providing financial and environmental benefits to (sub)urban dwellers. Expanding canopy cover and tree plantings increase property value, reduce energy costs, and cool a warming climate. Employing urban stormwater management techniques, such as reducing impervious surface and creating bioswales, clean and sink the first flush of stormwater. Diagram of Economic and Environmental Benefits of (Sub)Urban Trees Transpiration by Trees Cools the Air
Shading Paved Surfaces Reduces Urban Heat Island Effect
Shading Cools the Home & Reduces Energy Costs
Conceptual Bioswale Cross Section
Native planted rail embankment slows, sinks, and evaporates runoff
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Bioswale filters and sinks runoff while providing native pollinator and bird habitat and forage
Vegetated buffers for sidewalks make the pedestrian experience safer & more pleasant
Enhancing Urban Ecosystem Services /
Residential Development Affects the 200-foot Wetland Buffer of Tierney Wildlife Refuge
Pittsfield, MA
Natural Communities Forming Tierney Wildlife Refuge’s Wetland Buffer
As part of a 2016 visioning plan for the City of Pittsfield Conservation Commission, I used GIS-based analysis to explore the role of the city’s conservation areas in triple bottom line benefits. Through quantifying regional levels of impervious surface and canopy cover (below, left), delineating approximate areas of fragile and/or priority natural communities (far right), and mapping wetland encroachment and habitat fragmentation (right), I identified possible effects of potential and existing development on the city’s existing green infrastructure. Recommendations resulting from the project analysis included methods to enhance the ecological, economic, and social services of specific conservation areas, including Tierney Wildlife Refuge (below, right).
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Impervious Surface & Canopy Cover in Subbasins of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield
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0.05
0.1
Miles 0.2
Management Recommendations for David J. Tierney, Sr. Wildlife Refuge Legend
City of Pittsfield
West Branch Subbasin: 35% Impervious Surface 23% Forest Cover
Option 1: No intervention. Allow unguided use of site. Do not install formal trails. Benefits: No strain on budget. Will not attract more visitors to site, who could potentially impact site ecology. Constraints: Unguided use is damaging to site ecology, with visitors treading over understory in wooded communities and into wetlands. Unmaintained aesthetic does not indicate that the property is cared for, which can encourage misuse.
River or Stream Pond or Lake
Wetland Buffer 100 ft Deep Marsh
Shrub Swamp
Wooded Swamp Deciduous
Ono ta L a
ke
Abutting Property Lines
East Branch Subbasin: 33% Impervious Surface 28% Forest Cover nic
to usa Ho er Riv
David J. Tierney, Sr. Wildlife Refuge
Legend River or Stream Lake or Pond
Conservation Areas of Interest Subbasins
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0
0.5
1
Miles 2
Southwest Branch Subbasin: 12% Impervious Surface 48% Forest Cover
Option 2: Prioritize access while minimizing ecological degradation. Install a universally accessible trail and boardwalk with a viewing platform overlooking the wetlands. Benefits: Promotes universal access to conservation area. Allows for trail improvements with minimal impact on wetland storage capacity and vegetative communities. Constraints: Increased interest in site may attract more visitors, which could lead to more ecological disruption. Requires a budgetary investment, which can be mitigated by a concerted effort to rely on donated materials and volunteer labor. Option 3: Prioritize ecological health. Close site to visitors. Benefits: Decreased visitorship could lead to increased ecological integrity. Constraints: Decreases “eyes on site” who can help monitor illegal activities.
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Enhancing Urban Ecosystem Services / Lincoln, MA Concepts / Practice
Impervious Surface & Canopy Cover within the Stony Brook Subbasin
Lincoln Commercial District
Drinking Water Protection Areas in Relation to Lincoln Commercial District
X X
Legend River or Stream Pond or Lake
0 10 20
0 10 20
40
40
60
60
Miles 80
Miles 80
Lincoln Station
Legend
Stony Brook Subbasin
River Town or Stream Boundary
Legend Town of Lincoln
Pond Charles or Lake River Watershed
Shawsheen River Watershed
Lincoln Land CoverStation Cover Stony Canopy Brook Subbasin Town Impervious Boundary Surface Charles River Watershed Land Cover
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Charles River Watershed
Legend
Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Rivers Watershed Town of Lincoln Shawsheen River Watershed
Canopy Cover
Charles River Watershed
Impervious Surface
Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Rivers Watershed
Working with the Town of Lincoln’s Planning Department to create a greener downtown commercial district, I explored how the district’s 22 acres of impervious surface might affect the quality of two drinking water supply areas and the health of the local watershed. Design solutions included incorporating a bioswale to filter the runoff from the town’s major commercial parking lot at Lincoln Station. The bioswale will slow, clean, and sink the first flush of stormwater while also providing a safe pedestrian path through the parking lot, forage for pollinators and birds, and enhancing the visual aesthetic of the pavement-dominated lot.
Surface Water Runoff & Stormwater Drainage at Lincoln Station Rim: 202.8 Inv: 192.2
Rim: 200.9 Inv: 191.3 Rim: 199.1 Inv: 197.0
Rim: 203.5 Inv: 193.3
Rim: 205.7 Inv: 201.8
Leach Pit 6’ Diameter Inv: 200
Rim: 202.4 Inv: 198.26
Inv: 196.3
Beehive Drain Connecting to Invert Elevation 192.2
Legend
Boardwalk 18” high
Drainage Pipe Direction Surface Water Drainage Impervious Surface Vegetated Surface Catch Basin
Proposed Bioswale Cross Section (Rendered in AutoCAD & Photoshop)
A
A’ North End of Main Drive in Parking Lot
Native Grass & Wildflower Embankment 12% slope
Bioretention Soil 3’ deep Gravel Filtration 8” deep
Native Grass & Wildflower Filter Strip 6% slope
Parking Strip with Granite Wheel Stop Gravel Diaphragm
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Fothergilla gardenii
Engaging a Sense of Place / Longmeadow, MA Concepts / Practice
Shrub Layer
Ground Cover
Kalmia latifolia
Hamamelis virginiana Cornus canadensis
Existing Canopy: Oak & Sugar Maple
Tiarella cordifolia
{
Perennials
Woodland Path (right)
An area develops its identity as a combination of its unique cultural heritage, regional context, and environmental setting. My designs capture this sense of place and enhance the human experience in the landscape.
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The foundation and entry gardens of this residential design root the home within the neighborhood’s environmental context. Located only 400 feet from Forest Park (one of the largest urban municipal parks in the United States), the schematic garden design for the front of the house incorporates deciduous woodland structure replete with the mesic forest species found in the area. Taking advantage of the property’s existing canopy of mature maple and oak, the foundation and entry garden design includes ground covers, herbaceous wildflowers, and shrubs of varied structures and height to enhance a sense of place and belonging within the home.
Forest Park
Client’s Property
Existing Oak Canopy Shrub Layer: Kalmia latifolia
Shrub Layer: Amelanchier canadensis
Perennials: Tiarella cordifolia Ground Cover: Cornus canadensis
Photoshop Rendering of Woodland Path
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Concepts / Practice
Engaging a Sense of Place / Lincoln, MA In Lincoln, MA, I worked with the Rural Land Foundation (RLF) in an effort to revitalize its commercial property, Lincoln Station. A conservation non-profit, RLF funds its conservation activities with profits from the small commercial mall. As consumers increasingly shop online or in larger, nearby commercial centers, Lincoln Station is struggling to stay profitable and RLF wants to give Lincoln’s residents a reason to shop locally.
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Through a series of stakeholder and community surveys and charrettes, we identified many of Lincoln’s core values were tied to the town’s conservation ethic. To strengthen Lincoln Station’s ties with its nonprofit ownership, the design exhibits the Rural Land Foundation’s contribution to Lincoln’s cherished rural aesthetic. Techniques included decreasing pavement, adding gardens and vegetated pedestrian paths, and designing with a regional plant palette that
The endangered Henslow’s sparrow can serve as a branding opportunity, representing the mall’s connection to the Rural Land Foundation’s conservation mission.
references the town’s location within the Boston Basin Ecoregion. In this vision, Lincoln Station feels less like a mall than a community center, nestled within the town’s beloved open space.
The proposed Henslow’s Park, replacing a small parking lot and underused lawn, provides multiple zones of pedestrian activity while its native plant palette roots Lincoln Station with the environmental context of the area.
Crushed sandstone pathways
Interpretive Henslow’s sparrow habitat
Schizachyrium scoparium
Donelan’s Grocery
Sorghastrum nutans
A
Adropogon gerardii A’ Monarda fistulosa
Roof overhangs removed, colorful Parisian tables placed throughout
Business operated patio with 18” stone wall border
3’ tall earth mound (low-mow fescue mix)
Sporobolis heterolepis
Rudbeckia hirta
Asclepias tuberosa
Cross Section A - A’: Social Gathering Spaces & Interpretive Henslow’s Sparrow Habitat
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Community Participation Concepts / Practice
Resilient design responds to the needs and desires of the community. With a focus on participatory engagement, I have facilitated multiple stakeholder and public meetings with groups as small as five to gatherings of over 40 attendees. My process includes developing creative ways of eliciting responses to project specific prompts. Through charrettes, visioning activities, and plain old conversations, I move past responses to specific designs and aim for the heart of what the community wants and needs.
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WRITING SAMPLE
Writing Sample
Writing Sample: Executive Summary A Vision for Pittsfield’s Conservation Areas: Linking Landscape & Community Prepared for The City of Pittsfield Conservation Commission
Conservation areas enhance the quality of life within Pittsfield by providing access to a rich and varied network of wild spaces. City officials and community members have worked for decades to preserve natural resources within the city and maintain Pittsfield’s character as “a city in the country.” The Pittsfield Conservation Commission recognizes that preservation of the land is not enough; the City needs a management plan to guide decision making to protect and maintain their wealth of natural resources.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
The Conservation Commission hired the Conway School to evaluate existing conditions at the City’s four largest conservation areas: Barkerville Conservation Area, Brattlebrook Park, the David J. Tierney, Sr. Wildlife Refuge, and Wild Acres Conservation Area. They requested objectives to guide management at each site and Pittsfield’s conservation areas as a whole.
Feedback suggests that community participants want to protect and enhance the ecology and beauty of these natural areas, with a management process that:
The objectives offered in this plan were developed with guidance from the City’s Master Plan, consultation with the Conservation Commission, site analysis of the four parcels, and responses from community outreach. These objectives include recommended strategies for implementation and are meant to aid the Conservation Commission in protecting and maintaining the ecological health of the conservation areas while simultaneously improving the human experience of the sites. Each objective addresses the protection and enhancement of the city’s natural resources, quality of life, economic vigor, or a combination of these three interconnected principles.
From January through March of 2016, the project team and the Conservation Commission solicited input from the Pittsfield community regarding their use of and concerns for the conservation areas. Outreach included two community meetings on February 4 and March 1, 2016, interviews with community members and conservation professionals, and two online surveys. This valuable input was an important component of A Vision for Pittsfield’s Conservation Areas.
• improves communication and public awareness, • ensures better enforcement to curb misuse, • offers more educational opportunities for youth and adults, • increases recreational opportunities while simultaneously restricting active recreational uses and organized sports, • maintains infrastructure and actively manages natural areas to deter invasive plants and repair ecological damage, and • expands accessibility to allow people with disabilities to use and access some of conservation areas. The recommendations and strategies presented in this document address these concerns and ideas. In particular, the Conservation Commission will need to develop ways to publicize the conservation areas and balance recreational needs for different user groups.
SITE ANALYSIS
The site analyses explore the natural resources of the four study areas and evaluate their patterns of access, circulation, recreational use, and suitability for agriculture. Ecology Pittsfield’s conservation areas display a diversity of natural communities, including wetlands, deciduous, coniferous, and mixed woodlands, shrublands, and meadows. Hydrological features are a key component to each of the four conservation areas. With the exception of Barkerville Conservation Area, which has over two miles of frontage along the Housatonic River, wetlands comprise at least 40% of each site. Each of the eight Species of Conservation Concern found
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over the conservation areas of interest rely on aquatic habitat for part or all of their lifecycles, highlighting the importance of maintaining high water quality within Pittsfield’s waterbodies. The biggest threat to the ecological integrity of each of these parcels is contamination from historical sources, illegal dumping, or polluted stormwater runoff; ecological degradation caused by visitors’ misuse; and the spread of invasive species. Access Many abutting neighbors enter the conservation areas from their own backyards. Due to their locations outside of the city center and a lack of available public transportation, access across all four of the parcels is likely limited to neighbors and visitors with access to vehicles. Fourteen percent of Pittsfield’s residents do not own a car, and the nearly 40% defined as environmental justice populations (high minority and low income) are clustered to the northeast or within the urban core. The four conservation areas are located outside of the urban core, suggesting that they are not equally available to all demographics. The conservation areas lack identified addresses and are not consistently marked with signs, further confusing access to the sites.
Suitability for Agriculture Each of the four conservation areas of interest contain soils of farmland importance. Brattlebrook Park and Wild Acres, each with histories of agricultural use and areas in current agricultural production, provide the best opportunities for agricultural use within the City’s conservation areas. Many of the agricultural soils in all four of the parcels currently support woodlands and wetlands, necessitating an environmental assessment of the impacts of disturbing the site for agricultural use. It is likely that the resources required to clear the land or comply with the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act negates the potential benefits of agricultural use within these areas at each site.
OBJECTIVES
A Vision for Pittsfield’s Conservation Areas outlines the following objectives for the management of Pittsfield’s conservation areas: • protect, preserve, and maintain the City’s natural resources • enhance access to the conservation areas for visitors of all demographics and ability levels • increase opportunities for environmental education and community outreach • develop adequate staffing and funding sources for management of conservation areas • foster communication and address gaps in information
Many residential properties abut the conservation areas, like these homes overlooking Brattlebrook Park. Photo credit: Miranda Feldmann.
The four conservation areas entice both locals and tourists alike to explore their waterways and natural open spaces. Enhancing access and engaging the community will inspire stewardship of these open spaces into the future.
Circulation and Recreational Use Visitors to the conservation areas enjoy the sites for the passive recreational opportunities they afford. Common activities include hiking, dog walking, fishing, and nature observation. Active recreation, such as organized sports or the use of motorized vehicles, is discouraged or actively prohibited. The conservation areas risk ecological degradation under existing patterns of circulation and misuse. Wild Acres Conservation Area is the only one of the four parcels to feature official trails. The use of informal paths is widespread throughout the parcels, which can be damaging to each site’s ecological integrity. Although the use of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) is prohibited within the conservation areas, Brattlebrook Park and Barkerville Conservation Area are subject to frequent abuse from ATV operators who leave visible tracks on the properties. One of Wild Acres’ biggest attractions is its observation tower, which overlooks the site’s wetlands to the south. Photo credit: Tom Lewis.
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