8:30 - 9:00 Registration and Coffee

9:00 - 9:15 Welcoming Remarks and Charge for the Day

Representative, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation

Annie Harris, Executive Director, Essex National Heritage Commission

9:15 - 9:45 Essex County Reconnaissance Survey: Results and Opportunities Overview of the DCR Heritage Landscape Program and benefits of identifying and preserving heritage landscapes. Summary of findings and recommendations developed as part Essex County Reconnaissance Survey.

Gretchen Schuler, DCR/ENHC Project Consultant

Shary Page Berg, DCR/ENHC Project Consultant

9:45 - 10:15 Plenary Speaker: Douglas Foy, Secretary, Office of Commonwealth Development

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 - 12:00 Concurrent Focus Session A

*Please choose one of the following sessions when registering*

• A1 City and Town Centers:
  Central to defining community character, city and town centers offer unique opportunities for incorporating preservation and heritage development into economic growth strategies.
  
  

  Annie Harris (moderator), Executive Director,
  Essex National Heritage Commission

  
  

  Peter Aucella, Assistant Superintendent for Development,
  Lowell National Historical Park

  
  

  Mary Anne Clancy, Mayor, City of Newburyport

  
  

  Emmy Hahn, Coordinator, Massachusetts Downtown Initiative,
  Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development

  
  

  Chris Skelly, Director of Local Government Program,
  Massachusetts Historical Commission

  
  



• A2 Managed Landscapes: Estates and Institutional Campuses
  Change involving large expanses of unprotected open space challenge communities to address hard issues of community character, conservation, development, appropriate planning tools, and funding.
  
  

  Wesley Ward (moderator), Director of Land Conservation,
  The Trustees of Reservations

  
  

  Ed Becker, Executive Director, Essex County Greenbelt Association

  
  

  Glenn Gibbs, Town Planner, Town of Ipswich

  
  

  Sue Jones Moses, Smart Growth Circuit Rider, Essex County Forum

  
  



• A3 The Water’s Edge I: Coastal Resources
  Our innate desire to live in or access the coastal region pose challenges related to scenic values, private property rights, public access, and the health of a critically important ecosystem.
  
  

  Kathy Leahy (moderator), Director, Mass Audubon: North Shore Advocacy

  
  

  Dennis Ducsik, Tidal Policy Coordinator, Coastal Zone Management

  
  

  Kathryn Glenn, North Shore Regional Coordinator, Coastal Zone Management

  
  

  William Harris, Environmental Advocate, Friends of the Newburyport Waterfront

12:00 - 12:45 Box Lunch
Several “topic tables” will be designated to give attendees an opportunity to discuss resources/issues of interest not covered in the six focus sessions.

12:45 - 2:15 Concurrent Focus Session B

*Please choose one of the following sessions when registering*

• B1 Working Farms
  Stewards of an enduring historic and economic legacy, farmers struggle in the face of competitive markets, regulation, neighbors, and misunderstanding about what its takes to earn a living from the land.
  
  

  Christine Rasmussen (moderator), Project Manager,
  Essex County Buy Local Program

  
  

  Doug Gillespie, Commissioner,
  Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

  
  

  Additional speakers to be announced

  
  



• B2 Transportation Routes: Scenic Roads, Highways & Rail Corridors
  More than ribbons of asphalt and steel, these linear pathways of necessity and commerce possess intrinsic historic qualities worthy of preservation and enhancement.
  
  

  Virginia Adams (moderator), Senior Architectural Historian, PAL, Inc.

  
  

  James P. Cope, Manager of Metropolitan Planning,
  Office of Transportation Planning, Executive Office of Transportation

  
  

  Craig Della Penna, Principal, Northeast Greenway Solutions and Co-chair,
  Massachusetts Trails and Greenways Task Force

  
  

  Sarah Korjeff, Planner and Historic Preservation Specialist,
  Cape Cod Commission

  
  

  Chris Skelly, Director of Local Government Program,
  Massachusetts Historical Commission

  
  



• B3 The Water’s Edge II: Rivers & Ponds
  Once vital components of commerce and industry, these oft regulated water resources can be transforming elements of a community’s ecology and economy.
  
  

  Cassie O’Connor (moderator), Attorney & Partnership Coorinator, Urban Ecology Institute

  James Straub, Coordinator, Lakes and Ponds Program,
  Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

  
  

  Maggie Super Church, Executive Director, Groundwork Lawrence

  
  

  Additional speaker to be announced

  
  

2:15 - 3:00 Closing Plenary Session
Focus session moderators will present brief summaries of the action agendas developed during six individual focus sessions.