The President of the Friends of the Fells, Dr. Bryan Hamlin and FoF member Walter Kittredge, have submitted a proposal to DCR to designate the Fells as a Forest Reserve Patch instead of an Urban Park. This is the latest twist in the ongoing Fells saga.

Dr. Hamlin and Mr. Kittredge submitted their proposal at last Friday's (11/5) DCR Stewardship Council Meeting.

Their proposal is flawed on several fronts. First, it seems the "Forest Patch" designation is intended for small parcels of land with exceptional or sensitive features that need extra protection. An example might be a small stand of original-growth trees within a larger, second, third or fourth growth forest. The original-growth might qualify as a "patch." But all 2500 acres of the Fells? Probably not.

Second, it's not clear that DCR is even going to stay with the "Forest Patch" terminology or designations. They will be publishing official definitions sometime in the not-too-far future.

Along with the proposal, Dr. Hamlin announced that they had finally finished their study of flora and fauna in the Fells. This has been a mythical study the Friends of the Fells have thrown out as "coming soon" for almost a decade. Problem is, they have never shared the data with anyone (despite requests from DCR), the study was never requested or permitted by DCR, there has been no official oversight of the study and there are serious questions about the trustworthiness of it based on how Mr. Kittredge has been publicly portrayed by the Friends of the Fells as holding an advanced degree for years when he does not.

GB NEMBA has submitted a formal request to DCR to take no action on both fronts.

You can read the GB NEMBA letter here

And you can read the Friends of the Fells proposal here