A walk in the bogs

THE PEOPLE of Hanson had something to celebrate Saturday: the opening of an 8-mile trail that will connect the large green spaces in their semi rural Southeastern Massachusetts community. Creation of the trail was hastened by its inclusion in the Bay Circuit, a network of open spaces that, when completed, will run from Kingston Bay to Plum Island. The regional draw of the Bay Circuit is increasing the clout of local activists along its route.

``None of us would be doing this today if not for the vision of the Bay Circuit Alliance," said Bob Dillon, chairman of the Hanson Trail Committee. The alliance, a coalition of people in the 30 communities along the route, was instrumental in generating a grassroots movement in Hanson that persuaded the state to buy 1,500 acres of land from Northland Cranberries for $4 million. This provides an important link in the Bay Circuit and will be enhanced by the acquisition of another 200-acre parcel nearby, to be announced today.

Land protection is especially important in Southeastern Massachusetts, one of the fastest-growing areas of the state. Much of the open space is privately owned and prime for development. Fortunately, activists from Pembroke and East Bridgewater say they are inspired by the success in Hanson to complete the circuit in their own towns.

Phil Clemons, whose family has lived in Hanson for eight generations, led a hike Saturday through the Great Cedar Swamp, part of the Northland Cranberries tract. ``This has been known for 200-plus years as the Indian Crossway," he said as he walked along a causeway separating Burrage Pond from the swamp. ``They [the Indians] crossed here on the way to the Pembroke ponds from villages in the Bridgewaters."

The Bay Circuit is like the crossway, as it allows hikers to traverse a protected path through the fast-developing outer suburbs of Boston. More than 170 miles of the 210-mile circuit are complete, and the largest unfinished segment lies in Southeastern Massachusetts. With a few more local initiatives and continued financial support from the state, the circuit will soon be complete. Open-space preservation could easily lose out to other interests, if not for the unifying vision of the Bay Circuit.