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Council to vote on bioreserve plan

Approved petition would set in motion complex environmental, business deal
(Herald News - James Finlaw Reporter-6/17/02)

It's been almost two years since the city and state announced plans to collaborate on a unique, multi-million-dollar land deal designed to meet the economic and environmental needs of both parties. In June 2000, Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. and state Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand signed a memorandum of understanding outlining their interest in establishing a vast conservation area in the Watuppa Reservation, which they dubbed the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. Per the deal's terms, the city and state would engage in a series of land swaps that would lead to the creation of the bioreserve, a nearly 15,000 acre conservation area that would be permanently closed to development and opened to passive recreational use. The plan also called for the state to allow the city to establish an industrial park on 300 acres of land now within the Fall River-Freetown State Forest.

Now after two years of meetings between the parties to determine how the bioreserve should be put together and managed, the City Council is set to take a crucial step forward in the plan. Tonight, the council will hold a special meeting to vote on a home rule petition, which the city must send to the Statehouse to get the bioreserve plan rolling. The petition asks the Legislature to grant the city the 300 acres of state park land in exchange for $2.45 million from the city's redevelopment authority. The state would then use the money to purchase a 3,800 acre chunk of land in the reservation that belongs to the Acushnet Saw Mills, which is owned by the Hawes family. The petition also asks the Legislature to allow the city to grant the state a "conservation restriction" on 4,300 acres of city-owned land within the reservation. The restriction would prevent the land from ever being developed.

The city and state lands would then be combined with an additional 508 acres of the Hawes' property, which will be purchased by the Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit environmental group. The Trustees of Reservations is set to buy the land for $2 million in August. The newly purchased land would be coupled with the 6,000 acres to create a nearly 15,000 acre bioreserve.

City Council President William Whitty said the petition has the council's support."It's the first and probably most important step we are going to take regarding the bioreserve," said Whitty."I think (councilors) are on top of what the bioreserve is and what it means to the city. I think we'll deal with it very deliberately...and ship it up to the state,"he said. Whitty said he finds the plan attractive because it not only protects and preserves the reservation, but also gives the city the opportunity to procure land for industrial expansion, a scarce commodity in Fall River."It allows us to create a business park that will create jobs and increase our tax base,"he said.

Lambert has been touting the benefits of the bioreserve plan since he and Durand began working on it two years ago. Beyond the boost the plan would give the city's economy by enabling the city to create a new business park, he said creation of the conservation area has a lasting benefit that will be felt many years down the road."On the environmental end, I think the current perception of what we are doing is being underestimated. In generations, people will look back at this area preserved in perpetuity...I think it is going to put Fall River on the map in terms of uniqueness,"said Lambert."You're giving people in an urban setting the opportunity to enjoy something very few cities can afford residents,"he said. Lambert said the petition shouldn't face much opposition at the Statehouse because several state entities are firmly behind the plan. The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Environmental Management are all involved in the deal and will have a hand in managing the land."I think it's a win-win (situation) for the state and the city, and a win-win for economic development and the environment,"said Lambert.

While the passage of the petition will authorize the state and city to move forward with the transactions needed to create the bioreserve and business park, Lambert acknowledged that it does not set the plan in stone. The memorandum of understanding he and Durand signed allows for the deal to be nixed by Jan.1, 2007, if either party is unsatisfied with the project's progress. In the event that it is halted, the conservation restriction will be lifted, and the lands will go back to their original owners.

One of the plan's most significant items is the need for the state to construct ramps on Route 24 leading to the business park. Last August, acting Gov. Jane Swift pledged to spend $25 million to design and construct the ramps. If that promise falls through in the future, Lambert said the city will back out of the deal. Whitty said he is also concerned about whether or not the ramps will get built."I'm hoping that everything works out, and there is funding for the ramps. But you always have to think now about the times we're in."he said.

While the plans are set for how the bioreserve lands will be acquired, it remains to be seen exactly how they will be managed. As several state and city entities, environmental groups and the Trustees of Reservations will be managing the bioreserve, it is essential that a unified management plan be created. The parties are still hashing out the specifics of that plan, but it seems certain it will allow for a variety of "passive recreation" uses in the protected area, including hunting, fishing and hiking.

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