by Milly Chandler and Marge Darby

Hale Hal at Devens. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

For 270 years Harvard residents have participated in the life of the 2,700 acres now known as Devens. They have watched it change from a farming community known as Shabikin to Camp Devens where young men were trained for military life, to the induction center for all of New England during World War I, through World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm, to the closing of Fort Devens in 1994.

Harvard, along with Ayer, Shirley, and Lancaster, had jurisdiction over portions of Devens. In the face of the governor’s stated intent to take control over the four towns’ lands and decide their future for them, the towns cooperated with each other to encourage the federal prison hospital to reuse the one the Army was closing. This was the first act of self-determination by the towns.

Over the years Harvard residents have faced the following proposals for Devens that were made by federal, state, and private agencies:

• Siting of the second major New England airport at Devens
• The intermodal transportation center, so called “inland port”
• Federal job training center for youth
• Native American casino
• U.S. Olympic equestrian training center
• Massachusetts nuclear waste site
• Massachusetts hazardous waste via a sludge plant
• Devens recycling center, another sludge plant
• Housing for Boston’s homeless

At one point a regional spokesperson proposed that all of Devens should be set aside as the one place in the commonwealth where all of the types of development that are forbidden elsewhere could be permitted: nuclear waste was one of his examples.

This galvanized a group of more than 150 planners, architects, and ordinary citizens to work instead for a balanced reuse plan of sustainable development including aquifer protection, a housing component, job-generating businesses and open space.

Two major local concerns were an integral part of the need for a balanced reuse plan: water protection and soil remediation. The recognition of the importance of protecting the Devens aquifers as a regional water supply went hand-in-hand with the concern for environmental cleanup and soil protection. Citizens knew they did not want their lands to become a 9,000-acre dumpsite. The beautiful Mirror Lake, where the aquifer is visible as open water did not need to be sacrificed.

Eventually, citizens of the four towns and the government agency, then known as the Land Bank, incorporated the idea of a balanced reuse along with important protections into the Devens Reuse Plan known as Chapter 498.

An important aside here, is that Lancaster was a full partner in these early endeavors. The Devens/Lancaster parcel, which the Army still uses for training, is fairly equal in size to the total lands in Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley (Lancaster land is 4,525 acres; Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley total 4,656). Once it was agreed that the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service would expand the Oxbow to include the Lancaster land when the Army ceases to use it, that town felt it was inappropriate to continue as a partner. Although the Army still has authority over the Lancaster lands, continued vigilance will be required to ensure the agreement is honored once the military relinquishes that major parcel.

Chapter 498 was a hard-fought compromise. Notable among the supporters for a balanced reuse plan, in addition to the four towns, were other regionally concerned groups’ efforts. Massachusetts Audubon, the Nashua River Watershed Association, and Advocates for a Strong Economy with Responsible Transportation opposed the airport and intermodal center. (ASERT alone had a membership of nearly 1,000 people and included 10 towns’ residents on its board of directors). People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment (PACE) took up the cause for environmental protection and clean up, including water and soil issues that might threaten Ayer’s water supply. (Also a part of the main aquifer).

There continues to be concern for the remaining 2,700 acres that are part of Harvard. Town residents have taken lead positions in this effort to oversee the redevelopment of Devens, and along with regional groups and the other towns have volunteered to nurture it, protect it, and watch that the development adhere to the region’s vision of balance and sustainability. They have invested literally years of their lives in keeping Devens from being harmed. It is a Harvard tradition to value land. It is a part of us.

There is another aspect that must not be overlooked: the New Englander’s historical sense of the worth of land. Being a “landowner” entitled one to vote. The two were entwined. The loss of land, thus the loss of voting power and jurisdiction of land, threatens our sense of who we are. This is our current predicament: Devens residents want a new town and their voting rights, and many Harvard residents are concerned about the impact of the loss of these 2,700 acres. In this situation, both Devens residents and Harvard residents can understand each other. We both need an equitable resolution.

Note: Beginning in 1994, Marge Darby and Susan Wasserman began collaborating on a history of the Devens reuse process out of concern that as time went on this history was rewriting itself. These women were active participants from the time the first announcement came that Fort Devens was definitely slated for closing in 1991, and continued their involvement for years. They participated in regional and local workshops and forums. They kept track of the proceedings with notes, documents, and memos. New staff began joining MassDevelopment, new residents were moving into all the towns. People were receiving their information from each other and in most cases without knowledge of the facts. When Wasserman moved to Martha’s Vineyard, she turned all of her papers over to Darby, who has since combined them with hers to keep the history intact.