ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Peter Kane stands in Harold A. King Forest.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Harold A. King Forest is under the spotlight as town officials are in the midst of adopting a land use and management plan for the open space.
One of the objectives of the Open Space & Recreation Plan, adopted in 2013, is to create maintenance plans for each of the town’s parks and playgrounds. A land use and maintenance plan for the Charles M. Ewing Woods, a conservation land adjacent to the Stanley School, has been completed.
Now the focus is shifting to Harold A. King Forest, also known as the Oscar Short Conservation Land, 47 acres that has been dedicated as public conservation land and is managed by the Conservation Commission. Primary access to the forest is down an uneven slope from a small, paved parking area at the end of Nichols Street, according to a draft of the land use plan.
Before the plan is completed and eventually goes before the conservation commission for final approval, residents are invited to submit public comment for the draft document until April 14. The document is available on the town website. Comments can also be presented at an Open Space & Recreation Plan committee meeting on April 11 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
The plan’s purpose is to outline how best to manage the property and how to maintain it.
“Thickly wooded uplands are rare in Swampscott, and the Harold A. King Forest, which is managed by the conservation commission, serves as a habitat for both birds and mammals,” reads a town summary of the plan. “As one of the few natural undeveloped areas in Swampscott, the management objective of the Harold A. King Forest is to maintain the property essentially in its present natural state — healthy, clean, undamaged and as free as practicable from invasive species and to provide public access for passive outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.”
Damaged signs need to be replaced on the property. Plans also include having an Eagle Scout re-mark the one-way loop trail through the forest, clear the trail from debris and create an informational kiosk at the entrance to the forest off Nichols Street.
Longer term maintenance will include litter control and vegetation clearing from the trails. Work will be coordinated through the conservation commission, and the open space and recreation plan committee, with labor done by the Department of Public Works and volunteers.
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Peter Kane, director of community development, said officials want to complete a plan for every park and playground in town so there’s a clear outline for what the maintenance requirements and responsibilities are for each of those spaces. There’s no specific timeline for completing the plans for the 23 parks and playgrounds in town, but as each one is completed, officials will move onto drafting a document for the next space.
By documenting the maintenance and land use requirements, Kane said there’s a plan to refer to, rather than using common knowledge. The individual plans go into effect once they are adopted. Plans have to be adopted by the governing authority. For instance, the current plan has to be adopted by the conservation commission, while one for a school playground would have to be adopted by the school department, he added.
For further maintenance, residents are encouraged to form a “friends of” Swampscott conservation lands group, similar to ones in other communities, such as the “Friends of Lynn Woods” group. Those interested should contact Kane at [email protected].
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.