Washington Conservation Commission
Minutes – June 17, 2015
Assembly time: 7:00 PM.
Members present: Arin Mills, Jed Schwartz and Nan Schwartz.
Visitors: None
1.0 Approval of Minutes: Approval of Minutes from May meeting, Nan motioned to approve the minutes, Arin seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
2.0 Permits Committee - No new permits. Arin asked about building permits and shoreland permits, she wanted to know if the Selectmen check to see if all needed permits from DES are applied for and in place when they consider an application. Nan will look at the building permit again to make sure it is on there.
3.0 Committee and Board reports:
3.1 Land Protection Committee - We met to check out the wetland property along Rt. 31, 15 minutes before our meeting. Jed will speak to the owner to find out what he has in mind for the property. We discussed the price for an acre of land these days and it varies quite a bit. We will consult with the Forestry Committee and Ed Thayer to get an opinion.
Karen Bartlett - Jed put Karen in touch with town Attorney, they are working on setting up the trust. Colby property - Farnsworth Hill – The Forest Society voted to support the project. And we will work with them to get the project done.
At this point Jed had to leave the meeting.
3.2 Energy Committee – Nan said they met last Thursday but she hadnÕt heard any report from them.
3.3 Planning Board – Nan reported that the Public hearing was held for the six finished Master Plan Chapters on June 2nd, the committee is working on 5 more chapters to finish by fall (including the Energy Chapter, which is being worked on by the Energy Committee).
3.4 Forestry Committee – Tom was not in attendance, but Nan spoke about a meeting she attended with them about the forest behind the Elementary School. There is a safety issue and the FC is working with the school administration to come to a solution. Arin said she knows the kids like to play there and suggested some better management of the area. They are meeting with the land stewards of the Farnsworth Hill Reservation about access for a cut on the Farnsworth Hill Town Forest. When Jed gets a copy of the forestry plan he will send it out to members.
3.5 Legislative update - No news.
4.0 Public Presentations and workshops:
4.1 Speaking for Wildlife –We are holding our ÒBat TalkÓ on July 17th, Friday at 7-9PM in the Town Hall. Nan will check with Deb on availability of the Town Hall and get it on the schedule. Arin spoke with a friend at Audubon who will lend us echolocation equipment (ANABAT) so we can listen for bats after the presentation. Arin will design a poster and Nan will print them out. Nan will look for the handouts and get them printed. We discussed doing an additional talk on the Emerald Ash Borer and we will decide later when Arin sees how long the bat presentation is.
4.3 Tracking Invasive Plants project – Arin said she saw Phragmites at the old landfill site. She will take a picture of it and do a sheet on it. We continue input for the sheets we have. The reporting sheets and guides are always available here: InvasiveProject.html
5.0 New Business:
5.1 Bat Survey - Arin said she is waiting for a price from the survey guy and should have it in the next few days. She spoke with Lionel about taking a few of us on a hike up Lovewell Mountain, to where the caves are found. He has given her a few dates and will pick one soon. Arin said that if Forestry is doing a cut during pupping season they will have to do a bat survey. Nan will have Jed ask them about the timing of their cut, she thinks it will be when the ground is frozen.
5.2 Arin noticed that Parks and Rec had their lawn mower mow the cemetery on Faxon Hill Road. She thought that the timing of mowing the open field was not good for pollinators and would like to ask them to hold off on mowing this section until the wildflower bloom is over or perhaps do it every other year. Our pollinators are in trouble and need all the sources for food they can get. She will draft a letter to them.
6.0 Other Business:
6.1 Adopt-a-Highway trash pick up– We will meet July 11th, Saturday, at 9AM for our next pick up. Nan will send a reminder.
6.2 Natural Resource Inventory Map updates – Arin and Nan will continue to work on the list. Arin said we want an MXD of each map done in 9.0 GIS or higher. This links all of the parts of the map together in a folder so we have all the layers to use. Arin thinks that we could do a map that looks at land cover data and show the change of use over time. She will look at what is available.
6.3 Emerald Ash Borer – Arin said that we should do an inventory of Ash trees on town property and talk to Ed at DPW about it. She said they are emerging now so you should be able to see the holes.
6.4 Barker easement – Nan looked into NH Trails Bureau and there are several possibilities for grants, but no funds available right now, possibly later this year. She will check periodically with NH Trails Bureau website for grant round openings.
6.5 Arin said she went to a GIS meeting today and a woman was there from the Division of Historical Resources. They are doing a project called ÒMy New HampshireÓ and you can go to their website and submit photos of your favorite local places and pin them on the map. Arin did the Seventh Day Adventist church and suggested we do some more places in town. They are taking submissions until August. You can find the program page here: https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/ and look on the right quick link bar for the green My New Hampshire – Submit Photo button.
7.0 WhatÕs Happening in Nature?
Jed was contacted by a man from Maine who has been surveying a local property for beavers in their wetlands. He found an American Bittern nesting in the wetlands and suggested we go out to take a look at it. It is a relative of the heron and an uncommon breeder in this area. Jed had shared a movie of our sighting. The bird has a very distinctive call.
Arin saw a Merganzer with six babies on Ashuelot, she also said there are loons nesting on the pond.
Arin saw a juvenile moose walking on Faxon Hill Road by the roadside, he spooked and ran when she stopped.
Jed recently saw a mother deer and her fawn on East Washington Road.
Arin said it is time to listen for Whip-poor-wills again near the full moon in early July, their babies will be hatched and mothers are feeding them. Listen between sunset and darkness.
Arin had a Hummingbird Moth on her tree lilac bush.
Jed saw a Hummingbird sitting on a branch of the apple tree.
Arin saw a brown snake in the community garden, it was a young one (small). Arin had a hard frost at her house on May 22nd and also at the community garden.
To learn about the American Bittern and see JedÕs movie of him, click here: NewinNature.html
8.0 Correspondence:
Thank you letter for our donation from Barbara Skuly, ARLAC
Letter from Friends of Mount Sunapee re: Resort Expansion
TD Bank statement on our Conservation Fund account
9.0 Adjourned at 8:30 PM, our next scheduled meeting is July 15th, at 7PM at the Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Nan Schwartz, Secretary