Chris Lisinksi, State House News Service | WBUR | July 8, 2021
https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/07/08/walden-pond-open-water-swim-ban-lifted
Five days after banning open water swimming at Concord’s Walden Pond as part of a package of changes in response to a spate of drownings around Massachusetts, the Baker administration plans to begin allowing the practice again, according to an official.
An administration official told State House News Service that the Department of Conservation and Recreation planned to issue new guidance Wednesday evening that will once again permit swimmers to navigate waters beyond those marked by ropes and buoys.
The update includes several modifications aimed at increasing safety for swimmers, lifeguards and visitors.
On Friday, DCR banned open water swimming at Walden Pond “indefinitely” after a flurry of drownings across the state. The move drew criticism from the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association, whose members said restricting access would negatively impact their health while doing little to improve public safety.
Fifty state lawmakers, representing one quarter of the members in the 200-seat Legislature, signed a letter Wednesday criticizing the Baker administration’s decision to prohibit open water swimming at Walden Pond, calling it a “wrong and unfair” response to the drowning deaths.
In a letter to Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Jim Montgomery, the representatives and senators urged officials to lift the ban “very soon” and direct focus toward education and safety precautions.
“Walden Pond is one of the most cherished open water swimming locations in the entire state. It is also used for training by long distance swimmers, many of whom may now be forced to swim in the ocean or other less safe bodies of water,” the bipartisan group wrote in their letter, which Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington tweeted. “We have already heard from hundreds of our constituents who have shared with us how important swimming at Walden Pond is to their physical and mental health.”
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