Here is a bird's eye view from Spring Pond, looking east toward Highland Ave. The base 3d imagery is taken from Google Earth showing the topography of the high ridge, wetlands and streams downhill to Spring Pond. A light-blue color is added to highlight the wetlands and streams. Note: Videos following the stream uphill will be posted in the coming weeks.
A proposed Super Wal-mart expansion wishes to blast the ledge around the existing Walmart on Rt. 107, pushing the development further back toward the water shed. A proposed Lowe's wishes to blast the hill top, and place a building over a flowing stream and waterfall, displacing existing Camp Fire facilities.
Click on each image to view.
Raw image, unhighlighted...
Despite what the "experts" said at the Salem Planning Board meetings (that no water from the site flows down to Spring Pond)--I still believe that water flows downhill. I followed a waterway from the site all the way to Spring Pond. Further, much of the land is a Mass GIS designated Pine Barrens. Soils in Pine Barrens are classified as having “excessive drainage”, meaning poor conditions for agricultural crops, but native species can survive and flourish. Many scrub oak/pitch pine habitats occur on large aquifers, and development of them may threaten the quality of the water. The Pine Barrens at this location are upland to Spring Pond: the municipal water supply for the City of Peabody, MA. The “excessive drainage” of this pine barren drains into the many streams that flow into Spring Pond and the topography of the land is such that it is pitched toward the pond.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, pine barrens are a critical and severely threatened in habitat in Massachusetts. Contact www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhesp and tell them you are concerned that a Pine Barrens in Salem, MA is under threat of development.
Everywhere, Pine Barrens are being protected from development--not this one though--not the one within an area that Camp Lion pledged to keep forever wild as a refuge because of the urban expansion taking place throughout the communities.
I recently explored the West Branch Pine Barrens in Ossippee, NH and noted that The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire thankfully was able to buy and preserve this area that was under the threat of development. Visit www.nhdfl.org and www.nature.org and tell them that a Pine Barrens in Salem, MA is under threat of development.
Thank you Katerina for showing us that the "experts" are feeding us falsehoods.
Yes- the developer is not expressing this concern. In the Salem Public Meetings, the consultants used topoless (flat site plans), with only a long dimension from the proposed project to Spring Pond... to 'express how far away from the reservoir the project is.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the site is not flat, and the streams which flow into Spring Pond, are at a much closer distance. The area is dense with pines, where the ground may be easily saturated.
These concerns have been brought up continuously, and the questions have not been addressed.