New Visitors Center for Walden Pond?

For years there have been calls for an improved visitors center and better accessibility at Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord. Now, there’s a management plan that would affect those changes.

According to a report in the Globe, state conservation officials have completed a management plan that would include space for historic interpretation in a new visitors center, along with improved handicapped accessibility and safety measures. While a plan is finally in place, funding could remain an issue.

A kettle pond with a rich with cultural and historical significance tied to the time Henry David Thoreau spent writing and philosophizing there, Walden is a popular destination for international tourists, school field trips and day-trippers who swim there when the weather’s warm.

A bolstered visitors center—particularly one with dedicated space for education and interpretation—is not a new vision. State and local officials have been calling for that since even before the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees the Walden Pond reservation, commenced the planning process a few years ago.

“Of all of the properties that DCR manages, I would argue Walden is the most well-known, yet we don’t have a centralized location there for interpretation,” said Nathaniel Tipton, resource management planner for the DCR.

However, Tipton also reportedly told the Globe that funding for the plan could be an obstacle, as the project has a projected cost of about $6 million, while $2 million in capital funds are available.

Speaking with the Globe, Kathi Anderson, executive director of the Walden Woods Project, said she feels strongly that a “new visitors center is absolutely essential” at Walden, and she’s had some conversations with the DCR about private fundraising to support the project.

“The present site is very limited,” Anderson said. “It does not really reflect the image and message that many of us want Walden to convey.”

Other aspects of the Walden management plan would seek to improve safety of the kettle pond and its visitors.

With that in mind, would you support a public-private partnership to fund a new visitors center at Walden Pond?