Middle Rd. Isn’t Only Housing Option

Editor: A letter to the editor published on April 20 questioned whether the proponents for Saving Goose Pond Forest are sincere in their wishes to preserve and conserve that naturally intact forest. We are. We definitely are. It is the last significant acreage of forest in Chatham and should be left undisturbed.

Further, it should receive the protection of a conservation restriction and the deserved care by the town as such.

We believe that before any vote is cast to fragment Goose Pond Forest, voters should know that there are numerous sites being considered for housing - not just Goose Pond Forest. In West Chatham alone, there are negotiations for the Buckley property; and 1610 Main Street, the lots next to OSJL, the Meservey lots on George Ryder Road are all under consideration. The Planning Board has also designated OSJL and other properties in the West Chatham Neighborhood Center as possible sites. Stepping Stones Road is another area that is being considered, as well as Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church property. Land and repurposed properties are available for housing without dividing Goose Pond Forest and damaging its integrity and ecological values.

Bulldozing even a few acres for construction and development will have immeasurable impacts on the totality of the forest.

But preserving the remaining 19 acres off Middle Road with a Conservation Restriction will be the last puzzle piece to the overall protection of Goose Pond Forest as a whole. Save Goose Pond Forest. Support Article 63. We must preserve this land. If we don’t, we will never get it back. Once it’s gone, it will be gone forever.

Jennifer Buck

North Chatham