Municipal Open Space and Recreation Plans

A lengthy document governed by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services (DCS), a municipal Open Space and Recreation Plan is “a blueprint for how to obtain the benefits of development without losing valued environmental assets.”

A plan encompasses, among other points, a community history, environmental inventory and analysis, inventory of conservation and recreation lands, and five-year action plan. The inventory of lands is particularly valuable as it identifies land and conservation restrictions held by public, private, and nonprofit parties. A valid Open Space and Recreation Plan is a requirement for participating in DCS grant programs such as LAND, PARC, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund program.

•  Barnstable 2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan
    (8.9 MB, 395 pages)

•  Orleans 2006 Conservation, Recreation and Open Space Plan
    (10.8 MB, 110 pages)

•  Provincetown 2007 Open Space and Recreation Plan
    (6.5 MB, 255 pages)

•  Sandwich 1999/2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan
    (539 KB, 95 pages)

•  Wellfleet 2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan
    (1.8 MB, 143 pages)

•  Yarmouth 2007 Draft Open Space and Recreation Plan
    (2.3 MB, 99 pages)

For information about the status of plans of other communities, see a list or view a Map of Communities with an Approved Open Space and Recreation Plan (2008).

For details about how plans are constructed and what content they contain, read DCS's Open Space and Recreation Plan Requirements (2008) and its Open Space and Recreation Planner’s Workbook (2008).