Washington Conservation Commission
Minutes- November 15, 2006
Assembly time: 7:00 PM.
Present: Carol Andrews Nan Schwartz, Jed Schwartz, Mark Cummings.
1.0 Approval of Minutes: approved as printed, motion by Jed, seconded by Mark.
2.0 Old Business:
2.1 Dredge and Fill Committee - None.
2.2 NHCACC Membership – We will wait to vote on this until next month when we have more members in attendance.
2.3 Natural Resource Inventory – Carol has received a new map for us to review. It is the historical/cultural map that we worked on with Gwen Gaskell and Phil Barker. We will review it at our next meeting. We hope to see some writing soon to accompany the NRI maps. Carol will contact Chris to get an update on where we are in the process.
2.4 Conservation Initiatives for 2007 – We are planning several conservation initiatives for 2007 including getting a couple warrant articles in for Town meeting. Sandy was contacted by someone in town who wants to change the zoning regulations to remove wetlands when determining a building lot or subdivision, we agree with this proposal. We may want to do a warrant article to raise money for a capital fund to use for land conservation or helping with conservation easements. Warrants need to be in by five weeks before town meeting. We will discuss our ideas at our next meeting and nail down what we want to go with.
Our members need to get a better understanding of conservation easements so we can talk to interested people about them. Carol spent some time educating the present members.
2.5 What's Happening in Nature? – We have had another wet spell. Carol reports that we normally have 30 inches of rain in New Hampshire but this year we have had 50 inches already. Jed reported many moles are busy continuing to make new tunnels in the soft soil. Mark has seen many stink bugs recently and wondered if others had seen them also. Is it a Stink Bug Invasion? This is one bug that knows how to get your attention. It is noisy in flight, relatively large, conspicuously colored, and releases a pungent odor when handled. If you have a home in an area with coniferous trees, at one time or another you have probably had a run-in with this creature. People commonly refer to this insect as a "stink bug." Although it does have an odor, "stink bug" is not its true name. Its technical name is Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis). The Western Conifer Seed Bug (WCSB) is an intimidating-looking insect that moves into homes in late fall to take shelter. Although it does not bite or sting, as a member of the stink bug family, it often releases an offensive odor when handled — part of the insect's defensive strategy. In flight, the adults make a buzzing sound like a bumblebee. In spring the bugs move back outdoors to nearby coniferous trees to feed on the developing seeds and early flowers, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to pierce the scales of conifer seeds and suck out the seed pulp. The list of host plants includes white pine, red pine, Scotch pine, Austrian pine, Mugho pine, white spruce, Douglas fir and hemlock. Because these species commonly appear in home landscapes, the bugs may take shelter for the winter in nearby homes and other buildings. In the spring females lay rows of eggs on needles of the host trees. The eggs hatch in about ten days and the young nymphs then begin to feed on tender cone scales and sometimes the needles. Nymphs pass through five stages and reach adulthood by late August. Adults then feed on ripening seeds until cold weather arrives and the insects begin seeking overwintering quarters. If these seed bugs are a problem in your area, be sure to screen attic or wall vents, chimneys and fireplaces so you block their points of entry. Eliminate or caulk gaps around door and window frames and soffits, and tighten up loose-fitting screens, windows or doors to prevent these insects from getting into your home. New Hampshire currently has no pesticides specifically registered for control of WCSB. If large numbers of these insects do invade your home, vacuum or sweep them up and put them back outside. Information found at the UNH Extension website, http://extension.unh.edu/pubs/HGPubs/WCSBug.pdf
3.0 New Business: Nan found BMPs (best management practices) for agriculture online at the New Hampshire Government web site. She will put a link on our website for people interested in small scale farming who might find them useful. It is a 46 page PDF with lots of good information about manure and pasture management and many other related subjects. http://www.nh.gov/agric/divisions/markets/documents/BMPs_NH_agriculture.pdf
4.0 Correspondence -
Selectmen- request for the town report
Janice Philbrick- request for Con Com member list
UVLSRPC Newsletter
NH Lakes Association Newsletter
Ashuelot River Corridor Management Plan 2006 update
DES Request for more information File # 2006-02589 Ashuelot Pond Dam Village District
1. Clarify if DES Dam Safety Program approval is required or has been obtained
2. Revise overview plans to clearly indicate the proposed 270 sq.. feet and 6 linear feet of impact and clarify what repairs will result in jurisdictional impacts.
3. Clarify if cofferdams are required to complete work in the dry
4. Address the enclosed Ashuelot River LAC comments (keep some vegetation or re-seed the non-overflow sections)
5. Shoreland Protection Act requires photo documentation of the natural woodland buffer
6. Revise plans to include the ordinary high water mark, 50-foot primary building setback, 150-foot natural woodland buffer, 250-foot protected shoreland zone setbacks.
DES Notice of Administrative Completeness File # 2006-02472, Brereton
DES Request status of restoration plan File # 2003-01938, Max
DES Notice of Administrative Completeness File # 2006-02624, Town of Washington
DES Request for more information File # 2006-02624, Town of Washington
1. Recent communication with NH Fish and Game confirmed that the wood turtle and eastern brook trout (both species of concern) are known to occur in the project vicinity. Request the installation of a single open bottomed box or arch span culvert that is 1.2 x the bank full stream width. Please not materials used to emulate a natural channel bottom within the culvert, between wing walls and beyond must be rounded and smooth stones similar to the natural stream substrate and shall not include angular rip-rap or gravel.
2. Please clarify the stream channel width, top of bank width, and bank full width
3. Please provide photos without snow cover that clearly illustrate the stream channels and existing culverts
4. Please submit cross-section plans in addition to overview plans
5. Please confirm all work will occur within the towns' right of way
6. Please clarify the installation dates of the existing culverts and if the previous culverts were permitted
7. Please not because the proposed culvert replacements are not in-kind and impact perennial streams the proposed project is considered minor impact; and therefore require all twenty questions addressed in the standard dredge and fill application and wetlands must be delineated. All plans must be stamped by a certified wetland scientist.
NHACC Annual Meeting Invitation (Selectmen's copy)
6.0 Other Business - None
7.0 Adjourned at 8:30 p.m., our next scheduled meeting is December 19tht at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall
Respectfully submitted,
Nan Schwartz, Secretary