Washington Conservation Commission
Minutes
- October 19, 2011
Assembly time: 7:00 PM.
Present: Jed Schwartz, Carol Andrews, Arin Mills, Nan Schwartz, Johanna Young, Sandy Robinson
1.0 Approval of Minutes: Minutes from September meeting, Sandy made a motion to approve, Carol seconded, all voted in favor.
2.0 Old Business:
2.1 Permits Committee – There as a copy of a complaint for Nolet/Tehan to review for cutting in the shoreland protection zone. Nan and Sandy will take a ride out there to take a look and see if we want to comment to DES by the 30th.
2.2 Land
Protection Committee – We met with a group from the Millen Pond area, who
are concerned about conservation easements and land protection.
2.3 Energy Committee – Johanna reports that the EC has reviewed the audit reports that were done on several town buildings by the ETAP (Energy Technical Assistance Planning) group. She said y are hoping to get the Select Board to buy into some of the recommendations and do a few of the projects to help save the town money by saving energy. They thought that a project could be done using local people and it could be used as an educational tool. They are speaking to the "Button-Up" group about doing another presentation in Washington this year.
2.4 Planning Board – Nan reported
that the PB is working on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and that they
attended a joint meeting on the Stormwater issue with CC, Board of Adjustment
and Ed Thayer. It was a productive meeting and the building permit is being revised.
PB members also went out with CC members to finish up the site visits for the
town owned lots (see next item for more information.
3.0 Town Owned Lot Assessment –
Jed said that the site visits are now done on the remaining town owned lots
after 2 site visit trips last week and we will try to set a meeting with PB and
CC to come up with recommendations for the Selectmen, for sometime in the next
2 weeks. Nan and Lynn are getting all the notes together on the site visits, so
we can finish up with the remaining lots.
4.0 NHACC –Nan reminded us to sign up
soon for the annual meeting on November 5th. You can still sign up
online for the conference at http://www.NHACC.org
5.0 Other/New Business: Carol wondered
if this year is the tenth anniversary for the commission. Nan will try to look
into it and see if it is.
We
wish Ken Eastman best wishes for a quick recovery after his recent illness.
6.0 What's Happening in Nature?
Arin saw someone who had a moose in the back of their truck (hunting season has started)! Don't forget to wear blaze orange if you go out walking.
Sandy
said that someone took 3 bears in East Washington, near the farm. Many years
they have trouble with bears getting into their corn crop.
Nan
commented that there is a lot of beaver action all around town. Johanna said
her beavers continue to try to flood their driveway. She said Lindley has put
in a pipe to help drain the water down to a better level. She is not sure yet
if it is working. Young beavers have moved to new spots to try and build their
dams and are flooding areas where water is moving (brooks, streams and ponds).
This can be a big nuisance especially near roads and driveways.
Johanna
has had lots of porcupines digging for grubs on her lawn. Sandy has seen them
in several other spots around town. Arin saw one in the road three mornings in
a row, when she was on her way to work. Jed had one up in his apple tree again
for a few days, it chews on the small branches and trims the tree for him each
year. For more information about porcupine click here: http://www.washingtonnh.org/WCC_Html/NewinNature.html
Carol
said the chipmunk population is very high this year. There is a lot of mast
(nuts, seeds and berries) for them to eat, along with all the other wildlife.
Arin has noticed a huge amount of Beechnuts this year. They have spiny husks that split open and the small nuts are inside. They are edible and animals love them, the trees don't make them every year but this is a big year for them.
Johanna
had a dozen ducks land on her pond and swim around for a time before taking
off. She thought maybe they were wood ducks.
Nan commented that the fall colors weren't very good this year because of all the rain and some trees have blighted leaves. However, everyone commented that the swamp maples were very pretty with lots of colors and turned early this year.
This
is a big year for mushrooms too, because of all the rain. Johanna has seen a
big variety with lots of colors and shapes.
7.0 Correspondence:
Announcement for NHACC Annual Meeting, Nov. 5th
Memo asking for CC report for the Town Report,
due December 8th
DES notice of complaint for Doreen Nolet and
Doug Tehan, 67 Lang Road, seeking comment
DES, copy of shoreland permit for
Murray-Bissonnette, TM 12-96, 533 Washington Dr.
DES, notice of acceptance of permit application,
septic system, TM 12-52, McLaughlin Rd.
DES, notice of acceptance of Shoreland permit
application, TM 12-52, McLaughlin Rd.
DES, notice of acceptance
of permit application, culvert replacement, Town of Washington, TM 11-ROW, 724
Millen Pond Rd.
DES, copy of shoreland permit for Boenecke, TM
20-152, Highland Lake
DES, notice of acceptance of permit application,
septic system, TM 14-379, Buchanan Circle
Fox State Forest Newsletter
NH Audubon, copy of "The State of NH Birds – A Conservation Guide"
6.0 Adjourned at 8:10 PM, our next
scheduled meeting is November 16th at 7 PM in the Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Nan Schwartz
Secretary