Driscoll Sponsors Bill to Study Blue Hills

The Blue Hills Reservation’s forest health has declined. New plant and tree growth on the forest floor is not occurring at the rate of previous years and decades past. There is uncertainty and some disagreement as to the causes of this phenomenon, and how to best proceed to ensure the health of the forest thrives in the long-term.

The Blue Hills has not been recently studied in this regard. Outdated studies are being used to justify current actions, such as de-populating the deer in the hope that fewer deer will mean less damage to new growth, and a return to a thriving ecosystem.

A new study and scientific survey conducted on the Blue Hills Reservation would help to determine why the forest health is declining, and inform how to best ensure that holistic improvements occur.