Washington Conservation Commission

Minutes – April 19, 2017

 

Assembly time: 7:00 PM

 

Members present: Arin Mills, Dennis Kelly and Nan Schwartz.

Visitors: Andrew Hatch

 

1.0    Approval of Minutes: February and March minutes, Dennis made a motion to approve as written, Nan seconded and all voted in favor.

 

2.0    Permits Committee  - No new permits. Nan said we havenÕt received notice on whether the dredge and fill permit application by the Dam Bureau, for cleanup work they are going to do below the East Washington Dam was approved or not.

 

3.0   Committee and Board reports:

3.1   Land Protection Committee  - Arin mentioned that last month she reported seeing a for sale sign on a 9 acre property across Faxon Hill Road from the Camp Morgan property(TM 15-43). She looked it up and it was about $70K. She finds it intriguing because of the proximity to CM. Andrew said he sees lots of animals moving through the property and the area. Arin thinks we should keep an eye on it. Nan will research more about the property and owner.

3.2   Energy Committee – Johanna was not in attendance but Andrew reported for the EC. He said everything is Ōstatus quoĶ right now. He just closed his store in Concord and he is now free to pursue new things. He has recently been elected to the Planning Board and thinks that with Al as a Selectman there will be more advocacy for energy efficiency in the new building projects. He wants advocacy from the top. Nan agreed that the BoS needs to set the tone and push for energy efficiency on town projects and buildings. Arin thinks the energy audits should be pulled out and the projects should be looked at in light of the information and recommendations in those reports. Andrew said he is interested in the Schoolhouse project and luckily Al is heading up that project. Nan said that she provided Al with all the reports on the Schoolhouse and she hopes the PB can stay involved as plans move forward.

        We discussed solar panels and Andrew said the incentives (20% tax benefits) for purchasing solar panels/systems are set to go away at the end of the year, if Congress doesnÕt renew them. Dennis mentioned that his new shade umbrella has a solar panel on it to light up the lights on it. He said that the price of solar panels is dropping fast which is good for consumers. Andrew thinks Congress will use that reason to justify getting rid of the incentives. Arin mentioned she couldnÕt install solar panels because she gets her power from NH Coop and they donÕt have a deal with SunRun to buy the power.

3.3   Planning Board – Nan said both building projects passed and

3.4   Forestry Committee –Tom was not here to report. Arin reported that we met with the county forester Dode Gladders. He worked with us on an inventory of Town Forest and other town owned forested land for a project they are doing. Steve Hanssen joined the meeting and we provided Dode with the information he needed. Arin mentioned to Dode that she noticed some ŌblondingĶ on ash trees in the Camp Morgan forest so he agreed to meet us there to look at the trees for EAB infestation. (see 6.1) Nan suggested that we should get FC to mark all the Town Forest properties. Arin wants to get out and visit all the Town Forests over the next couple of years. Nan said that Steve Hanssen has been on all the properties and would be a good guide.

3.5   Legislative update  - Nan couldnÕt find any new information on the bills we were concerned with but Andrew found that SB 30 is designated as ought to pass with amendments (we will check what the amendments are) and SB 136 got through the Senate and is passing to the House. We will keep an eye on these.

         

4.0   Public Presentations and workshops:

4.1   Historical Society talk on local trails – Arin said that she, John Brighton and Jed are all presenting different angles of the trails talk. They are getting together next week to nail it down. The talk is on May 8th, Camp Morgan Lodge at 7:30pm and she hopes everyone can attend. Nan said the Trail maps were reprinted and we can have them for sale that evening.

        Dennis said he went to their last talk about fishing and it was really interesting and informative. He said that someone was talking about trying to book CML for an event and it is booked out on most weekends. He said that the multipurpose room at the Elementary School is another public space you can book and no one really knew that.

        Andrew said he wants a hiking map and Arin said they are available from the Town Clerk for $3. We discussed when you need to wear blaze orange. Andrew said he was was looking for information from Fish & Game and it was very confusing with all the different hunting seasons. Dennis said that mainly Deer hunting and Turkey hunting seasons are when you need to wear orange for safety in the woods.

4.2   Spring Hike – Nan said the rhodora bloom in late May or early June so we should schedule our hike in Bradford Bog for around that time. Dennis suggested we could also walk over to CarolÕs property for a longer hike. Nan said that was a good idea and you can look at the Bradford Springs Hotel site. We tentatively scheduled the hike for Saturday June 3rd at 10am.

4.3   School Pollinator workshop –

        Arin checked with the school about doing a program this spring about pollinators and butterflies in June. The teachers suggested June 2nd, in the morning. We have lots of materials to work with for a presentation. Arin bought some nets that she is working on modifying to catch butterflies. In case it is raining we will come up with an inside activity we can do if we canÕt get outside.

 

5.0   New Business:

5.1   Adopt–a-highway trash pickup. We scheduled our first pickup for Saturday, May 6th at 9am. Meet at the Library parking lot.

5.2   Reminder – Johanna and Nan need to visit the Town Clerk and sign their paperwork for membership.

 

6.0   Other Business:

6.1   Dode Gladders hiked with us on the Camp Morgan property where Arin said she had seen some ŌblondingĶ on ash trees. They looked but didnÕt find any Emerald Ash Borers (EAB), but did find some native ash borers instead (which are not as destructive to the trees). He showed us how to remove some bark from the tree to look at the cambium for identification purposes. Dode said that Washington is on the fringe of the Ash treeÕs natural territory so they are not always happy growing here and any problem can kill them more easily. He figures that once the EAB moves into the area all the ash trees will be killed. Nan said that if you have a feature ash tree in your yard you can treat it to protect it and the cost is not too bad. Nan suggested we have Dode out to do a talk about the EAB for property owners. Arin suggested August to get summer residents too. Arin said it takes about 8 years for the EAB to kill a tree.

        Dennis said he would like a way to encourage loggers to leave some brush piles for wildlife and not chip up everything. He said this is very beneficial to wildlife. Arin said that at work they did some logging and they left some pine log piles for grouse. Dennis said he dropped some big pines and left them stacked for creatures to use. We discussed chipping and the drawbacks of taking all the materials out of the forest. Nan said that loggers that work with foresters are more likely to leave things better for wildlife. Dennis said he would reach out to Shane Mulliner and talk to him about his practices. Andrew said that the town should put some conditions on the town forest loggers. We agreed and Nan said the FC is working with a forester for the logging of Farnsworth Hill TF.

6.2   Natural Resource Inventory Map updates – Nan and Arin met to look over the draft maps and made a list of comments for Chris. Chris has the list and will work on making the changes. Arin and Nan will get to work on making the changes to the NRI document and Conservation Plan in the near future.

6.3   Master Plan goals for 2017 – We are working on the NRI update and map update as our first goal.

6.4   Barker easement – Jed reached out to Phil who has agreed to meet with Whit Beals from NEFF. They are talking about setting a meeting and walking the property. Arin said she would like to join them if she can and asked that Jed let her know when the meeting is scheduled.

6.5       Tracking Invasive Plants project – We are keeping this on the agenda as a placeholder as the growing season starts, start to watch now for emerging plants. The reporting sheets and guides are always available here: InvasiveProject.html

 

7.0   WhatÕs Happening in Nature?

Dennis reported that the loon is on Island Pond. Andrew reported 3 loons on Millen Pond. He spoke about the problem they had last year with 3 loons (two males and one female), there was a big fight between the males and the loon chicks were killed and one male was wounded badly. He hopes that wonÕt happen again this year.

Dennis reported that he had a huge snow pile at his house and it melted really rapidly over 2 days last week. He had never seen such fast melting of snow. It was in the 80Õs for a couple of days.

Andrew reported seeing a bald eagle on Millen Pond.

Dennis had a big Piliated woodpecker.

Arin heard peepers on Sunday night (April 15th). Dennis has vernal pools on his property and hears lots of creatures. Jed saw frogs crossing the road on April 12th. No one has spotted any salamanders so far. It is raining tonight so we will watch for them crossing.

Nan said her forsythia bush flowered over the weekend, seems early.

To read about the signs of spring, click here: NewinNature.html

 

8.0   Correspondence:

Connecticut River Conservancy – post card and letter

NH DOT, letter re: Adopt-a-highway program

 

 

9.0   Adjourned at 8:45 PM, our next scheduled meeting is on May 16th, at 7PM at the Town Hall.

 

Respectfully submitted,                       

Nan Schwartz, Secretary