[MassHistPres] Section 106 Monopole in Middlesex Fells

[mmwe at mmwe.cnc.net]

ISO of comments on how to respond to Section 106 letter regarding placement of 120' monopole by Sprint in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.

The Middlesex Fells Reservation contains several thousand acres of woodland,
wetland, and watershed, protected from development and open to the public. It
was pieced together from a wild, rocky landscape previously exploited for its
natural resources: pasture, timber, granite, gravel, waterpower, water, and ice.
Beginning as early as 1869, Elizur Wright and other local residents began
lobbying for the preservation of the Fells. When the Trustees of Reservations was
created in 1891, its first gift of property was Virginia Wood in the Fells. In 1894,
the newly formed MPC acquired 450 acres to create the Middlesex Fells
Reservation. By 1897, the Reservation had grown to more than 3,000 acres.

The 120' monopole is planned for a small vacant spot of land belonging to DCR just west of I-93 South. Spot Pond, so named by Governor Winthrop in 1632, is on the east side of I-93 North. We've asked for a view shed analysis but fully expect the monopole will be visible from the far coast of Spot Pond and Woodland Road that encircles its shoreline as well as three reservoirs to the west.

Marcia M Wengen, Co-hair
Stoneham Historical Commission