Parcels adjacent to the McLaughlin woodlands are owned by the Boston Planning Development Agency

Several natural area parcels adjacent to the McLaughlin woodlands are owned by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) not the Boston Parks Dept. They are technically available for development. Efforts to have the parcels transferred to the Parks Dept have not prevailed as yet, despite strong neighborhood support. These parcels have not been built on in the past . Parts are exceptionally steep and unsuitable for building. There are more than 55 established native trees and shrubs, including Red and White oaks, Bitternut hickory, Sugar maple, American elm, and Arrow-wood forming a contiguous edge and seamless piece of the historic landscape. According to the Nature of Oaks by Tallamy, oak trees support, by far, the most insect life. Birds go to places where they can find food so with the preponderance of oak here, It is not strange, therefore, that birders find this a prime birding spot.

BPDA parcel from across Fisher Ave by the Benjamin Health Care Center

View from BPDA parcel looking down to Fisher Ave and Benjamin Health Care Center. White oak is in foreground