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The MassGIS Protected and Recreational OpenSpace data comprise a set of related data layers that represent parklands, forests, golf courses, playgrounds, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation lands, water supply areas, cemeteries, school ball fields, and other open land that may be classified as protected and/or recreational in use. Not all lands in this layer are protected in perpetuity, though nearly all have at least some level of protection. The layer includes lands owned by the state, cities and towns, federal agencies, and private and non-profit entities. The following types of land are included in this polygon datalayer: - conservation land - habitat protection with minimal recreation, such as walking trails - recreation land - outdoor facilities such as town parks, commons, playing fields, school fields, golf courses, bike paths, scout camps, and fish and game clubs. These may be privately or publicly owned facilities. - town forests - parkways - green buffers along roads, if they are a recognized conservation resource - agricultural land - land protected under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) and administered by the state Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR, formerly the Dept. of Food and Agriculture (DFA)) - aquifer protection land - not zoning overlay districts - watershed protection land - not zoning overlay districts - cemeteries - if a recognized conservation or recreation resource - forest land -- if designated as a Forest Legacy Area The OpenSpace layer includes two feature classes: * OPENSPACE_POLY - polygons of recreational and conservation lands as described above * OPENSPACE_ARC - attributed lines that represent boundaries of the polygons These feature classes are stored in a feature dataset named OPENSPACE that includes ArcGIS geodatabase topology. |