"Massport caught in tree-cutting controversy"

Saturday, June 29, 2002

Massport caught in tree-cutting controversy
By Michael Kunzelman
The Boston (MA) Herald


Massport's plans to cut down about 140 acres of trees and brush near the
runways at Hanscom Field in Bedford is inflaming long-running tensions
between the agency and neighboring environmental activists.

A Massport spokesman said an unspecified number of trees must be cut so that
the air field complies with Federal Aviation Administration regulations and
is safe for incoming and outgoing aircraft.

But environmental groups, and some state and town officials, fear that the
agency's "vegetation management" plan is little more than an excuse to
expand the air field and open it up to larger commercial aircraft.

"What it appears to represent is a change in the size and nature of the
airport," said state Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln. "They're envisioning a
bigger, noisier airport."

Critics also are concerned that Massport intends to cut down trees beyond
the air field's property lines, including part of Bedford Town Forest.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Massport has the legal right to cut
down trees located on property owned by the four towns abutting Hanscom
Field - Bedford, Lexington, Concord and Lincoln.

Sheldon Moll, chairman of the Bedford Board of Selectman, said a court
ultimately may need to settle the question of whether Massport's plans are
trumped by a community's right to protect conservation land.

"We don't want planes crashing and people getting killed ... (but) we don't
want to lose our town forest," he added. "It means a lot to the people of
Bedford."

For the moment, though, Massport's tree-cutting plans are limited to its own
property. The agency hasn't presented the four neighboring towns with plans
to cut trees at Bedford Town Forest or any other town-owned property.

Massport spokesman Richard Walsh said the authority's five-year plan isn't
designed to pave the way for increased traffic or larger jets to use
Hanscom.

"It's not a plan which would allow us different use of the airport," he
said. "It's just that we're in a cycle of managing vegetation ... It's a
safety issue."

During a recent public hearing on the plan, a Massport consultant said the
plan calls for "thousands and thousands" of trees to be cut down. Walsh said
the consultant "misspoke," but he was unable to specify a number.

"It's not just trees," he added. "It's brush. It's wetland."

Grassroots environmental groups have tangled with Massport for years over
the use of Hanscom, but the skirmishes intensified when Shuttle America
launched commercial flights at the air field in 1999.

"Massport has a long history of broken promises," said Marty Pepper
Aisenberg, a spokesman for the Concord-based Save our Heritage environmental
group. "Their agenda is to grow their airport and make money."

Fargo offered a similar assessment.

"There is such a thing as 'Massport-speak,' " she said. "They can gloss
things over."

Aisenberg claims Massport is planning to cut tress "far below" FAA-required
levels to accommodate larger jets than its shortest runway currently can
handle. And the cutting could have a profound impact on local wildlife, he
said.

"We think Massport wants to do a lot more than keep flight paths safe,"
Aisenberg added.

Save our Heritage is prepared to lend a little star power to the cause.

This week, three members of the group's advisory board - actor Ed Begley
Jr., recording artist Don Henley and author Edward O. Wilson - met with the
group's executive director in Concord to discuss its strategy for fighting
growth at Hanscom.

In the meantime, town officials are poring over Massport's plans in a series
of public hearings.

"Right now they're only cutting on Massport property, and most of the areas
they're proposing have been cut previously," said Bedford Conservation
Commission member Miles McDonough.

Massport isn't expected to unveil plans to cut beyond its borders until the
fall, at the earliest, according to Moll.

"That's going to be a real fight," he said.

Fargo said she may file legislation aimed at curbing growth at Hanscom and
blocking tree-cutting. One option, she said, would be to install concerned
residents on Massport's board of directors.

"It has been very hard to get legislation through because they have a lot of
friends here (in the Legislature)," she said.

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