II. INTRODUCTION

The goal of the Regional Open Space and Recreation Plan is to encourage the communities constititing the Ten Mile & Narragansett and Mount Hope Bay watersheds to cooperate in identifying regional issues and in implementing regional planning initiatives. Within the context of this plan, the watershed is the geographic unit used to define "regional." Using the watershed as a planning unit is consistent with the goals of the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative:

1. Measurable improvement in water quality and environmental quality;
2. Protection and restoration of habitats;
3. Improved public access to, and balanced use of, waterways;
4. Improved local capacity to protect water resources; and,
5. Shared responsibility for watershed protection and management.

This approach is logical considering that many of the municipal open space action items either involve linear features such as trails and greenways which follow stream corridors or involve other natural resources which cross municipal boundaries.

The Massachusetts Watershed Initiative defines "watershed" as "an area of land that naturally captures and channels the runoff and subsurface flow to one common point, such as a lake or river." Further, the Initiative defines the "watershed approach" as "An integrated ecosystem management methodology based on:

· Geographically defined management…
· Local people solving local problems…
· Partnership of watershed stakeholders…
· Guidance by science and input…
· Watershed based prioritization…

In furtherance of Watershed Initiative goals and objectives, the purposes of the Regional Open Space Plan are: 1) to supplement municipal open space planning in these two watersheds, and 2) to consolidate and regionally prioritize those municipal "priority action items" which have regional impact. By bringing these items together, within one planning document for the first time, we might collectively, as municipalities, state, local and regional agencies, better orchestrate our efforts to enhance, preserve and offer quality open space opportunities to our watershed(s) population.

As this regional plan has no precedent within the Ten Mile and Narragansett/Mount Hope Bay Watersheds, we are in the unique position of being able to create a collective vision for the future. The paths, trails, corridors, landscapes and bikeways mentioned within this plan may or may not become a reality. The growth management, zoning and conservation design tools outlined within this plan may or may not be employed. But, the first steps in developing a means, format and a regional will to plan for the future have been "put on the table" by a representative, Regional Open Space Committee.

A. Planning Process and Participation

The Ten Mile River and Narragansett/Mount Hope Bay Watershed Regional Open Space and Recreation Plan was developed by municipal and local volunteers working with the EOEA Basin Team Leader and a planning facilitator/consultant from SRPEDD. Meetings were held at the SRPEDD offices on a monthly basis between May, 1999 and May of 2000. Subcommittees, working on specific issues, met more or less frequently as was required.

Initial work centered on reviewing the most recent municipal Open Space and Recreation Plans within the Ten Mile River and Narragansett/Mount Hope Bay Watersheds to seek any regionally oriented action items. These items were extracted from the municipal plans and circulated to Regional Open Space Committee members for accuracy, relevance and to determine whether or not specific items had been or were scheduled to be addressed. A final list of items to be retained and addressed in the Regional Open Space and Recreation Plan was developed by the Committee after a series of monthly meetings and additional sub-committee meetings.

Each of the monthly meetings was organized around a topic or topics relevant to the format of a traditional Open Space Plan (per the Division of Conservation Services Open Space Planner's Handbook, rev. 1993). Committee members were responsible for both informing and gathering information from the appropriate parties within their respective municipalities. The EOEA Basin Team Leader maintained contacts with, and provided information from, the appropriate state and local agencies. The SRPEDD planner/ facilitator conducted the monthly meetings, recorded the sessions in writing, provided access to GIS data and maps, and provided direct technical assistance to the municipalities in between monthly meetings.

The EOEA Basin Team Leader and the SRPEDD representative also provided the Committee access to federal, state and local organizations and individuals to offer suggestions and guidance. Several of these people attended monthly working meetings to provide direct input, explain the relevance of their work and to answer questions posed to them by Committee members.

All of these activities were part of a "planning with" (rather than "planning at") strategy employed by the SRPEDD planner/facilitator. This approach allowed the Committee to build a plan from the ground up, with local references, initiatives and points of identification and buy-in. In the end, this planning approach yielded, besides a Committee generated plan, the desire to implement the recommendations of the plan as well as the desire to continue working together as a Regional Open Space Committee in order to facilitate the implementation of the plan.