Reedy Meadow Site Visit with National Natural Landmarks program coordinator
On May 10, Planning & Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori conducted a site visit to Reedy Meadow with Deborah DiQuinzio of the National Natural Landmarks Program (NNL), and Wakefield Conservation Agent Elaine Vreeland. The subject of interest was Reedy Meadow, one of 11 Massachusetts designated National Natural Landmarks, which is shared by the towns of Lynnfield and Wakefield.
National natural landmark designation formally recognizes a site as possessing outstanding biological or geological features, providing an important example of our nation’s natural history. Formerly known as “Lynnfield Marsh”, Reedy Meadow is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in Massachusetts. Measuring 540 acres, it provides habitat for numerous and rare birds, reptiles and amphibians. Each year Reedy Meadow attracts thousands of hikers, bird watchers, school groups and others who enjoy the peaceful surroundings and its native plant and animal species.
Diquinzio is the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the NNL, a division of the National Park Service. The site visit allowed Diquinzio the opportunity to review the property, to meet the Meadow’s two conservation stewards Cademartori and Vreeland, and to discuss how the NNL can partner with the towns on all matters relevant to Reedy Meadow.
“This site visit gave us an excellent opportunity to share what we are doing in our two communities”, noted Cademartori. Wakefield learned of our flood mitigation work in Reedy Meadow and will take that information back to their Commission. I was very pleased to hear how enthusiastic Deb Dequinzio is about future partnership opportunities with the NNL Program and our two towns.”
In the last several months Reedy Meadow has been in the news regarding the proposed rail trail and the completion of a flood mitigation project. The proposed rail trail, which would connect Wakefield and Lynnfield through Reedy Meadow, was the subject of a ballot question at the April 9 election. In February, after nearly 10 years in the planning, a culvert was removed by the MBTA in Reedy Meadow – alleviating potential flooding for surrounding neighborhoods north of the rail bed.