Washington Conservation Commission
Minutes- October 19, 2005
Assembly time: 7:00 PM.
Present: Carol Andrews, Sandy Robinson, Nan Schwartz, Jed Schwartz, Mark Cummings.
1.0 Approval of Minutes: approved as printed, motion by Sandy, seconded by Jed.
2.0 Old Business:
2.1 Dredge and Fill Committee- Mike & Carol reviewed a Permit By Notification for beach replenishment from Russell Johnson. Map 24 Lot 107. The permit is incomplete; Mike & Carol both spoke with the landowner to help him through the process of permitting. No other new business.
2.2 Roadside cleanup this Friday the 21st. Meet at 9 behind the Town Hall. Maybe all that rain has washed everything away from the sides of the roads? Carol, Nan, and Sandy have said they will attend. All others are welcome to join in.
2.3 WhatŐs happening in nature? Rain, rain go away. Come again some other dayÉ. when we donŐt have a hike scheduled. We were sorry to have our hike rained out for this year, we considered rescheduling the next weekend but it was just as rainy. They say that 5 inches of rain in 24 hours is a 50-year storm and 6 inches is a 100-year storm, so maybe we had the 500-year storm! We wondered about where all the fish end up when we have a flood like this.
2.3 Carol posed a question to us: WhatŐs a baby porcupine called? None of us could guess but Carol gave us some interesting information about porcupines along with the answer.
One animal that won't be vanishing this winter
is the porcupine, which is active year round in New Hampshire. With thousands
of quills on their backs, porcupines are not in any hurry! They sit quietly
munching in trees, or waddle along the ground. Clues that porcupines are around
include ground littered with short twigs of hemlock. Porcupines break twigs off
the larger branches, chew off the tasty needle tips and toss the rest away.
Chewed bark is another sign. Porcupine scat looks like a pile of brown elbow
macaroni.
Porcupines are active mostly at night. This time of year through early December
is their breeding season. Between next April and August, females will give
birth to one baby. (What's a baby porcupine called? A porcupette! No kidding!)
Our porcupines are also busy eating up a storm, feasting on bark, twigs and
acorns.
Porcupines are best known for defending themselves with their quills. Quills
can be up to three inches long, and a single porcupine can have 30,000.
Porcupines can't "throw" their quills, but if another animal comes
into contact, the quills release easily. Once embedded, quills work their way
deeper and deeper into an animal's skin (up to an inch a day!), so they should
be removed as soon as possible. Porcupines don't have quills all over - just on
their backs. That's why they lower their heads and turn their back when
threatened. Coyotes, bobcats, owls and especially fishers prey upon porcupines.
-NH Fish and Game
Check out this website about porcupines: www.nhptv.org/natureworks/porcupine.htm
She told us that the baby porcupine (porcupette) is born with all its quills, but at birth the quills are soft and harden within their first hour.
For any of you who may have had your dog sprayed by a skunk, here is an all natural recipe you can whip up to help get rid of the odor: 1 quart peroxide, 1/2 cup baking soda, and some Dawn dishwashing liquid. Mix together and wash the dog. According to Carol this works quite well.
3.0 Natural Resource Inventory: Carol and Sandy have been working on a document which describes the scope of work for the project. Rick sent a proposal that didn't cover enough, so they are working to focus our interests and informational needs. We talked about the Con Com paying the Forest Society to do the mapping and having the Planning Board pay for the interpretation and recommendation portion. We discussed documenting the high water around town after the flooding to see if it agrees with the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
4.0 New Business: Jed reported that DES came out to East Washington to do a more comprehensive study of the Mill Pond. They are concerned that the pond is being closed more often in the summer months. They took samples up and down the brooks to analyze and help pinpoint the problem.
5.0 Correspondence
Permit By Notification for beach replenishment- Johnson
The Changing Face of the Seacoast presentation November 9 at UNH
Community Environmental Outreach Program
NH Association of Conservation Commissions annual meeting notice
DRED Urban Forestry Center
DES newsletter The Source
DES letter of deficiency file #2003-02463 1230 Faxon Hill Road
Conservation Commission News
6.0 Other Business - None
7.0 Adjourned 8:20 p.m., Next meeting November 16th at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall
Respectfully submitted,
Nan Schwartz
Secretary