At the meeting at REI last Wednesday, July 14th, the group assembled discussed the issues of organizing as a 501 C3 non-profit. Due to the impracticalities of raising money for the necessary general liability and ”Officers & Directors” insurance (approx $2,000/yr), those in attendance decided that it would be best to put off the incorporation until such time that the Massachusetts DCR could provide some protection for those that would be involved. In the mean time, a continuing interest in Harold Park State Forest will be discussed at monthly meetings the second Wednesday of the month at the Reading REI. Until this issue is resolved, or someone from the group is willing to accept the responsibility of being an officer, there is no 'official' organization, and no officers of the group. Any meetings or activities will have to be hosted by the DCR, and Bob Anderson, Park Interpreter, thought that would not be a problem. (He is hosting the picnic this evening at 6:00 at the campground) This website will continue to provide updated information about the Friends' effort, so stay tuned.

The meeting of the Friends on 9 June is important, as we will be voting on the incorporation articles and bylaws for the Friends of Harold Parker. Assuming these documents are approved by at least 2/3 of the members present at the meeting, we will be ready to file the incorporation papers the next day!

We'll also be talking about potential fund raising ideas, and our initial agenda. The meeting is at REI at 7PM, as usual. Hope to see you there!

The Friends will be meeting again on 12 May at 7-8:30PM at REI, as usual. Here's a tentative agenda:

• Review the possible activities and priorities of the Friends group
• Discussion about the 'legal' form of organization
• Discussion of fundraising

Come join the Friends for a few hours on Saturday 24 April 10-12PM for a spring cleanup day. This is part of the "Park Serve" program conducted by DCR, which engages thousands of volunteers across the state on that day.

The Friends will be meeting again on 14 April at 7-8:30PM at REI, as usual. This month's feature speaker is Harris Penniman, Forester for the DCR, who will speak about forest management practices at the HPSF. Here's a tentative agenda:

• Forester Harris Penniman to speak
• Review of the possible activities of the Friends group
• Projects to carry out - Invasive Species work group
• Discussion of forming a 501c3
• Upcoming State Forest Programs

Our speaker at the 10 March meeting was Christine Berry, Land Protection Specialist with the DCR. Christine described the land protection program at DCR in general, and some of the projects she is working on to protect land which will become part of the Harold Parker State Forest. The DCR has $2M to spend on acquiring property that would make a good addition to the State Forest system, and we are very happy to have her working toward saving land to add to our forest. If anyone knows of land that would be a good fit and is available for purchase, she can be reached at 978-887-5931 x30

Due to the snowstorm (that never happened) we canceled last month's meeting at the last minute. This month we have a full agenda, including a review of the brainstorming session from the January meeting. We're meeting again at REI in Reading at 7PM, as usual.

Here's the agenda:

I. Introduction
II. Land Protection Specialist, Christine Berry, to speak
III. Further Discussion of Mission Statement and Friends Activities
IV. Forest Futures Envisioning Process Discussion
V. Topics for future meetings
VI. Other

The 13 Jan meeting of the FOHP was the first 'official' meeting in that it was organized and managed by ...the Friends. The three meetings in the fall of 09 were sponsored by the DCR, but at this meeting the DCR let us fly solo. Attendance was good, with several dozen people including some new faces. (A few came because they heard incorrectly that this group was going to become a friends group for all the state forests in NE Mass - which is NOT the case. We're only involved with the Harold Parker State Forest.)

The organizational meeting of the Friends of Harold Parker State Forest will be held on Wednesday, January 13th, at 7PM at REI in Reading. This is an important meeting as officers will be elected and a mission and priorities discussed. Anyone with any interest in the wonderful natural resource that is the Harold Parker Forest is asked to attend. The location of the REI store can be found at:
http://www.rei.com/map/store/26

The volunteers for office are:
President - Jim Sutton, Andover
Vice-President - Karen Kline
Treasurer - Frank Lane
Secretary/Webmaster - Matt Russell, Andover