The ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern) program was established by the legislature in 1975 in order to identify and designate "areas of critical environmental concern and to develop policies for their protection and use." Since then, twenty-six ACECs have been designated across the state. The program is officially the responsibility of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, but management of the program has been delegated to the Department of Environmental Management.

The Alewife Reservation, which lies along the borders of Belmont, Arlington, and Cambridge, and the areas surrounding the reservation, which form the watershed of the Alewife Brook and also the Mystic River, are valuable resources in our urban setting. The areas provide habitats for birds and animals. The reservation is the beginning of a green-way west of Boston, from the Alewife reservation, through the open space at McLean, Rock Meadow, and on through the metropolitan State Hospital and into Waltham. Spy Pond, Fresh Pond, Little Pond, Clay Pit Pond, and Blair Pond all flow into Little River and Alewife Brook. Much of the storm water from the three bordering communities also flows into these ponds and streams, which cut through the reservation and join the Mystic River on its journey to Boston Harbor. What happens to the areas flowing into the reservation affects the quality of water in Boston Harbor.

The Alewife Reservation has long been neglected by the Metropolitan District Commission, which owns and manages the reservation. We have learned from studies of the water quality in Alewife Brook and the Mystic River that the water flowing from each of the communities contains sewage, which has contaminated the streams. It is clear that the natural resources, as well as the history of the area, require more attention. Creating an ACEC in this region helps to focus the attention of the state environmental agencies on public works agencies and private developers when work is undertaken either in the ACEC or outside the ACEC if the work affects the ACEC. It is also an incentive for communities to work together to solve problems rather than leave them at their borders. Everyone will know that the area has regional significance and is important to the health and vitality of the region.

But the only way to achieve a nomination from the state is through the efforts of individuals, the communities involved, and organizations, both private and public, that will create a coalition committed to the goals of an ACEC Πthe long-term preservation and stewardship of the designated areas.

The nomination does not prohibit development. It simply stipulates that any work to be done in this area must be fully studied under MEPA, regardless of whether minimum thresholds are exceeded, and that the work must meet high environmental standards.

Over the past few months, a group of citizens from the three communities decided to undertake the task of seeking the nomination. They have begun to determine ideas about the boundary of the proposed ACEC and to gather information about the resources. This will enable them to make clear the regional significance of the area.

But the process is just beginning. The ACEC nomination is a community process that needs the involvement of the many people who have an interest in the Alewife Reservation and the surrounding areas. I hope they will attend the public meetings to learn about the significance of the nomination as well as to reassure themselves that the nomination will not change the value of their property. The nomination application will demonstrate how the ACEC criteria have been satisfied and will set forth reasons why local officials, communities, organizations, and members of the public should lend their support.

Those of us who have been involved in the beginning phase of this process are certain that the Alewife area is of regional significance, has animal and bird habitats that are worthy of reservation, and has historical significance that enhances its value for today and for the future. It is also an area that is under pressure by the growth around it.

I urge the Belmont Citizens Forum to support the application for the Alewife ACEC nomination and ask that individuals lend their time to perform research and to write the application. The nomination will be a valuable tool in preserving and enhancing the natural resources of our region.

--Anne Paulsen