WASHINGTON CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Minutes- March 6, 2003
1.0 Assembly: Time 7:00 p.m.
Present: Carol Andrews, Marv Jager, Tom Taylor, Jed Schwartz, Nan Schwartz.
2.0 Approval of Minutes: approved as printed
3.0 Old Business:
3.1 Dredge and Fill Committee: no activity
3.2 Planning Board update: Marv reported that about 200 surveys have been returned to the Planning Board; now to interpret the results. Marjory Swope of the NH Association of Conservation Commissions is trying to get more technical assistance for Con Coms from the Regional Planning Commissions. Meetings will be held in the different RPC areas to ask towns what they need for assistance.
3.3 Hazard Mitigation: Tom Taylor reported that the Hazard Mitigation Committee is working on trying to formulate a list of potential hazards, and try to prioritize them. Carol stated that the Ashuelot River Corridor should be viewed as high priority for land protection. Tom reported that Washington has a high risk of fire due to the ice storm. The state has come up with funds for a new fire truck for addressing this concern.
3.4 The Ashuelot River LAC is going to hike from Lempster Mt. Rd. to Lake Ashuelot on March 15th. This walk will go through a town forest. Conservation Commission members are encouraged to attend.
3.5 Marv went to a meeting at Mt. Sunapee about the expansion of the lease boundary. Okemo may be planning to build a significant number of condominiums on the Goshen side of the park. Many people in Goshen are concerned about what this amount of growth would do to the town. Expansion of the operation at Mt. Sunapee could have a significant impact on the town of Washington as well.
3.6 JourneyÕs End Hike- 22 participants brave the single digit temps.
3.7 Land Conservation Conference- Saving Special Places: Conservation Tolls for a Growing State. Saturday, April 12th in Hopkinton. Registration $45 before April 4th, $35 for multiples of the same organization registering together. Please let Carol know if you want to register.
3.8 Town Meeting Tuesday the 11th Camp Morgan 9:00 a.m./ polls open 10-7. The last article encourages the state to fund the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.
3.9 WhatÕs happening in nature?
10Õ 5.5Ó of snow so far this winter
This is the season to hear owls!
Who's Who in the Owl Family
Owls are much more numerous than people realize. Unless you live deep in a
treeless city, there is likely to be an owl within walking distance of your
house. This is the time of year when it's easier to find them. A cold night in
midwinter is a good time to locate owls as they call to each other during their
breeding season. Eleven species of owl occur in New Hampshire. The most common
species live in forests, swamps, woodlots, farms and even suburban yards.
None of these owls are easy to see by day; they spend most of the daylight hours hidden in tree cavities or perched in thick vegetation. Their plumage color and pattern is designed to blend in and their nocturnal activity period makes them difficult to detect.
Owls see and hear what humans cannot. Many special adaptations combine to make owls superb nocturnal predators. Owls can see 35 to 100 times better in dim light than we can. Their eyes are fixed in their sockets. The only way they can move their eyes is rotating their head. Their large, sensitive ears, located to the outside of their large eyes enable them to locate distance and direction of sound with amazing accuracy.
Here is a little bit about the four most common owls found in New Hampshire.
Saw-whet Owl
At 7-8 inches high, the saw-whet owl is the smallest of the owls found in New
Hampshire. Though this owl does give a rasp call like the sound of a saw being
sharpened, its most common call is "too-too-too." It can repeat this
call more than 100 times per minute. It is most likely to be found perched in
or near a dense stand of evergreens like hemlock or spruce, and feeds primarily
on rodents.
Barred Owl
"Who Cooks for you? Who cooks for you, all?" is the call of the
barred owl, the state's most vocal owl. This large brown and white owl, with
large dark eyes and no ear tufts, is common. Barred owls also produce a
startling array of wails, screams, whoops and cackles. They are especially
noisy during their March and April courtship period. Prey include small
mammals, frogs, snakes and fish.
Great Horned Owl
Great horned owls are the real "hoot-owls." Their large size, ear
tufts, yellow eyes and white throat bib of this owl are unmistakable. The deep,
rhythmic hoots can be heard as early as January. Their five-note call has been
likened to the phrase, "Who's awake? Me Too!" An opportunistic
predator, the great horned owl feeds mainly on mammals, including skunk and
porcupine.
Screech Owl
The screech owl is a bit larger than the saw-whet and is also a cavity nester.
These owls have two typical calls, neither one a screech; the
"whinny" is a mournful descending whistle and the "tremolo"
is a one-pitch whistle. Screech owls feed mainly on insects and small rodents.
4.0 Natural Resource Inventory: Website will go live this weekend. Check it out, it looks great! Now letÕs work on some more content.
5.0 New Business: none
6.0 Correspondence:
Caroline A. Fox Research & Demonstration Forest
DES wetlands permit with conditions
Comprehensive Environmental Inc.
Northeast Resource Recovery Association
DES letter of compliance
7.0 Adjournment: 8:10 p.m.
7.1 Next Meeting Date: April 3rd at 7:00 at the Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Carol K. Andrews
Secretary