An appeal from one of the elves who helps keep the site pristine

WALK AROUND Jamaica Pond today and you will find remarkably little broken glass, fishing tackle, dog poop, and other debris - far less than you'll find in other Boston parks. No doubt this is due in part to the increased priority the Boston Parks and Recreation Department places on this gem of the Emerald Necklace. However, the principal reason for the park's relatively pristine state is the cadre of anonymous volunteers (some of them, like me, unrepentant off-leash dog walkers), who police the area.

Every day, winter and summer, rain or shine, we carry plastic bags and pick up trash; right upended waste barrels; shame bicyclists into sticking to the bike paths; deter vandals, drug dealers, sexual predators, and other criminals; and rescue injured wildlife. Speaking as one of this group, I hope the pond is left roughly as it is.

One reason for the increased interest in the pond is that it is prettier, cleaner, and safer - for people and wildlife - than it has been for many years. The many potentially conflicting interests that converge - wildlife preservation, neighborhood and urban recreation, historic preservation, pedestrians, bikers, dog walkers, baby strollers, urban fishermen, sailors, rowers, and runners - are now roughly in balance. Substantially disrupt this balance by opening the park to public swimming, and Jamaica Pond would be substantially degraded for all its many users.

KEVIN J. HANDLY
Jamaica Plain