brownfields could save forest

[Pat Mattson <middlesex@igc.apc.org>]

On my website, the Manchester, NH Urban Open Space
Website, I have posted information which concerns the recent
acquisition by the city of an urban forest, the Hackett Hill
property, and the EPA-sanctioned plans by the city to develop this
property.  The URL for this website is:
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/env/
The information is of interest for the following reasons:
1. It describes a deal between the city and the EPA concerning
a solution to CSO problems -  an arrangement that is apparently 
the first of its kind; 2. It  tells how sensitive forested wetlands, namely
Atlantic white  cedar/ swamps and a black gum swamp, as well as the
biodiversity of the entire property,  will be put at risk by the planned
development;  3. It indicates that the public has been deceived
about the degree of protection that the final EPA mandate
requires; 4. It describes how city officials plan to market
certain parts of the property by using the fragile forested wetlands as
an inducement for corporations who are willing to pay large
sums of money to have these natural amenities adjacent
to their buildings;  5.The deal has received the support
of NHUs governor and regional EPA administrator, John 
DeVillars, who has indicated that Al Gore is also a supporter
of the arrangements. 

I have proposed a moratorium on development while
the city considers a brownfields program which could
move development into the Manchester millyards,
and thus save the urban forest.