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Resource Management Plan
Beaver Brook Reservation
(Expanded Beaver Brook Reservation, including the recently-acquired
portion of the former Metropolitan State Hospital)
Towns of Belmont, Lexington and Waltham
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation
North Region
The expanded Beaver Brook Reservation consists of the historic
Beaver Brook Reservation (the first Reservation in the Metropolitan
Park System) and the recent 254-acre transfer of a portion of the
former Metropolitan State Hospital (MSH) property. The MSH property
acquisition also includes a 54-acre parcel under a conservation
easement. The expanded reservation is strategically located amidst
a series of open space parcels including Belmont's Rock Meadow Conservation
Land, Massachusetts Audubon Society's Highland Farm, Waltham's Waltham
Woods, Middlesex County Hospital open space, and Lexington's Concord
Avenue Conservation Land. In combination with the open space resources
of DCR’s new park, these properties provide an important network
of wildlife habitat and public recreation opportunities within the
metropolitan region. The MSH site has extensive wetlands and woodlands
which provide prime wildlife habitat.
Project Summary
The overall goal of the project is to develop a Resource Management
Plan (RMP) for the expanded Beaver Brook Reservation, including
the new 254-acre park, the adjacent 54-acre conservation restriction,
and the original 59-acre Beaver Brook Reservation.
The primary objective of the RMP is to develop short and long-term
development, programming, and management strategies that will enhance
the recreational, ecological, cultural, and visual resources within
the expanded Beaver Brook Reservation. The protection and enhancement
of the ecological system will be a guiding principle in developing
this plan. Both passive and active recreation opportunities will
be promoted and enhanced, while protecting and enhancing the Reservation
as a living system.
The RMP will reflect public participation and input received throughout
the planning process. Community support is an essential element
of the DCR’s Resource Management Planning efforts. The development
of working relationships with Beaver Brook Watershed Coalition,
residential neighbors, business abutters, park users, local officials,
the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and other interested parties
will be an important component of the project. The DCR will seek
to strengthen their support, and to develop an expanded citizen
support network. Some of the objectives of the RMP include determining
areas most suitable and desirable for recreation, education, and
preservation; assessing the potential environmental impacts to the
Reservation and DCR’s conservation easement area of the proposed
nine hole golf course; identifying opportunities for strengthening
the open space network and greenway corridor around the Reservation;
preparing guidelines, procedures, and techniques for maintenance,
management, and operation of the Reservation; identifying opportunities
to obtain private funding for capital improvements, maintenance,
and operation (i.e., partnerships); and developing a phasing strategy
with cost estimates for RMP implementation.
Project Manager
Daniel Driscoll, Project Manager
Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway St., 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 626-1438
Dan.Driscoll@state.ma.us
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