City of Methuen Master Plan

Natural Resources, Open Space, and Recreation
Natural Corridors
Wetlands provide important “natural corridors” that can be enhanced by careful planning. Methuen
recognizes this potential by enforcing the 50-foot no-disturb buffer around its wetlands and reviews
activities within an additional 50-foot area. The Open Space and Recreation Plan urges protection of
lands adjacent to already protected areas. Another strategy for improving the value of these natural
corridors would be to provide developers with incentives for protecting areas adjacent to wetlands
and/or providing trails along the wetlands that pass through their developments. This would be
especially valuable in situations where the corridor would serve as a link between already protected
parcels.
Planning for Corridors
One of the Open Space Plan’s main goals is to develop trails and greenways to link open spaces and
provide access. Trails can provide a healthful alternative to driving to the market or to a nearby
recreation site. Trails have also been acknowledged as an important means to help improve good health.
The Master Plan’s Open Space Plan Map shows numerous potential corridors. Each of these potentials
links existing open space resources with other protected land and in many cases with areas that have
been designated as “priority habitats” by the state’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
Many of the proposed corridors follow already protected wetlands and stream corridors or transmission
lines. Some of these corridors serve as natural linkages between larger upland and wetland areas. Not
all of these corridors are suitable for trails, but many may easily provide a trail linkage if a right-of-way
were negotiated with the private owners or if the dedication of a right-of-way were made a condition of
the properties’ development. In other cases trails can be routed along existing roads for part of their
way. There may also be other potential corridors that are not identified.
Many of the potential corridors connect to or cross over Chapter 61 lands. These lands have been given
a reduction in their property taxes as an incentive for being used for agriculture, forest, or recreation. In
addition, the city has a 120-day option to buy these lands if the current owner wishes to sell. The city
should prioritize these lands in terms of their importance for inclusion in the future open space system.
Their role in providing potential corridors can be one more reason for the permanent protection of at
least a portion of these areas.
Several of these potential corridors warrant special mention. The state and the Northern Middlesex
Council of Governments have proposed a trail corridor along the northern bank of the Merrimack
River. This trail would connect downstream to the ocean and upstream to the Pawtucket Boulevard
greenway in Lowell and potentially along the river to Nashua. The river itself is one of the “priority
habitats,” designated by the state’s Natural Heritage Program. The Spicket River offers another
potential that could connect the existing Spicket Riverwalk to the Merrimack River passing through
Lawrence.
Corridors and greenways are beginning to be more recognized both as a means of providing wildlife
habitat and opportunities for exercise, thus contributing to both the health of the environment and to
the health of people. Research is showing that when mixed with large protected areas, corridors can
play an important role in preserving a diversity of wildlife. The following is a set of design guidelines to
achieve these goals:
• Wider is better. Corridors less than 150 feet wide do not provide meaningful wildlife
habitat. Narrow corridors can be important for trail connections, but they may be
inadequate for use by wildlife.
Page 141