Grant Awarded for “A Vision for Willis Woods”!

Emilie Cademartori, Director of Planning & Conservation is pleased to announce that Lynnfield has been awarded funding by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to participate in the agency’s technical assistance program (TAP). Titled “A Vision for Willis Woods” the grant is for development of a regional effort to create a vision, and ultimately a work plan, for hundreds of acres of open space at the intersection of the four communities of Lynnfield, Middleton, North Reading and Peabod

Working with MAPC, Lynnfield will act as the lead community along with participating towns of Middleton, North Reading and Peabody. The vision plan will focus on perpetual protection of this large collection of contiguous open space.

“Preservation of this undeveloped acreage holds the potential for a large connected wooded trail network as well as access to the Ipswich River”, says Cademartori. This aggregate area is comprised of various conservation-owned properties, municipal water district lands, large privately- owned parcels, all adjacent to the Ipswich River and two miles of the abandoned Salem-Lowell Rail Line.

“Our Town is truly grateful for this opportunity to work collaboratively with the Towns of Middleton and North Reading and the City of Peabody to preserve this vast area of undeveloped forest”, notes Lynnfield Town Administrator Robert Dolan. “Our four communities, and clearly the larger region increasingly depends on these open spaces to safeguard our natural resources and strengthen our climate resiliency. This grant award marks a tremendous step in advancing those goals.”

“This is wonderful news for Lynnfield, North Reading, Middleton and Peabody, as this grant will help further their collective efforts to preserve hundreds of acres of shared open space, protect local drinking water sources, and provide more passive recreational opportunities for all residents,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading). “My thanks to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council for recognizing that the proposed “A Vision for Willis Woods” will offer many tangible long-term environmental benefits to all four communities and to the region as a whole.” 

“Of particular interest to the Town of Middleton is the ability to connect to the end of the Independence Greenway in Peabody”, notes Middleton Town Administrator Andrew Sheehan. “A connection through Middleton to Lynnfield and North Reading will offer a safe area for residents to walk, bike, and exercise. COVID has demonstrated that residents desire places to safely congregate and recreate.”

“The City of Peabody is pleased to see this vision to connect recreation trails to the Peabody Independence Greenway”, says Brendan Callahan, Peabody Asst. Director of Planning. “The development of a work plan and shared vision between the neighboring towns will move the communities towards the region’s goal to link our existing trail network system.

"Projects like this one, which involve multiple communities in the same watershed working to develop a shared strategy, are the key to the future of the North Shore," said Patrick Lynch, Director of Policy and Planning for Ipswich River Watershed Association. "We are thrilled to be supporting our municipalities as they work with MAPC and other partners to pull together a really ambitious vision for the headwaters of the Ipswich River Watershed."

MAPC, Greenbelt, the Lynnfield Center Water District, Ipswich River Watershed Association, and other critical regional stakeholders have long expressed interest in preservation of this area. This project has recently come into focus with the current activity surrounding the pending private sale of 20 acres of forested land in Lynnfield, known as Richardson Green. It is one of the last unprotected parcels, and a possible “keystone” to this larger area.