Washington Conservation Commission

Minutes – December 19, 2007

Assembly time: 7:00 PM.

Present: Carol Andrews, Jed Schwartz, Nan Schwartz, Johanna Young, Lindley Rankine

Visitor: Arin Mills

1.0    Approval of Minutes: November minutes, Jed motioned to accept as written, Johanna seconded, the vote was unanimous to accept.

2.0   Old Business:

2.1    Dredge and Fill Committee – DES sent a letter requesting more information on Ed Thayer's Half Moon Pond Road bridge project.

         NH DES sent notification of 3 separate violations of the Shoreland Protection Act, two occurring on Highland Lake and one on Half Moon Pond.

2.2    Energy Committee – The Energy Committee met last Thursday during the snowstorm and we will post the minutes when we receive them. They presented the results of the energy audit and recommendations to the Selectmen. They had lots of questions about it. She explained that PSNH has a program called "Smart Start" that helps get the town going by doing the work and then charging stabilized payments over a few years time until the costs are repaid. Johanna had a table at the Christmas Fair where they sold picture cards with scenes from Washington. They also had a copy of the Conservation Plan and other energy information for the public. Johanna shared a letter about the Town joining the "Community Energy Challenge" run by the EPA and trying to achieve a 10% reduction in energy use. http://www.epa.gov/NE/eco/energy/energy-challenge.html The EPA will provide technical assistance to every community that chooses to take their challenge.

2.3    Planning Board update – The Planning Board is having a public hearing about the National Flood Insurance Program, several ordinances and LUO on December 28th at 6:30 PM at the Town Hall.

2.4    NRI – Chris Kane came by Carol's office and dropped off a CD with PDF versions of the NRI maps. Jed and Nan will review the maps and see if anything needs work. We will post them on the website so people can look at them and give comments. We will ask Chris for all the layers so we can use them in the future for customized maps. Arin talked about GIS and MDX formats and the ArcGIS program that was used to make the layers.

2.5    EW Watershed Grant - Jed reported that the DES grant was awarded to the group. They have another application to fill out for the final round due in late January.

3.0    New Business  - None

3.1   What's Happening in Nature?

         Lots of snow in December and it is deep out in the woods. Carol has seen lots of Pileated Woodpeckers lately, not in town but from her office window at the Society for the Preservation of NH Forest building in Concord. They are the largest North American woodpecker except for the Ivory-Billed, which may be extinct, and have an extraordinarily long tongue (16") to reach for their favorite food – bugs! For more information on these spectacular birds see the New In Nature section of our website: http://www.washingtonnh.org/WCC_Html/NewinNature.html

        Lindley saw a bobcat by the side of the road going toward Hillsboro at the Windsor town line one afternoon. Carol added that mountain lions have been spotted near Half Moon Pond.

4.0   Other Business – None

5.0   Correspondence:

               Lakeside publication from the NH Lakes Association

Notice of workshop from the Local Government Center entitled Land Use Clerks Works: 

Building a Solid Foundation Saturday Jan. 12, 2008     9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

DES notice of possible Shoreland Protection Act violation, Remillard, Map 20 Lot 174 File #2007-02732

DES notice of possible Shoreland Protection Act violation, Butler, Map 20 Lot 175 File #2007-02725

DES notice of possible Shoreland Protection Act violation, LaPrade, Map 12 Lot 39 File #2007-02741

                DES Approval of Halfmoon Pond Road Bridge project File# 2007-01893

 

6.0   Adjourned at 8:00 PM, our next scheduled meeting is January 16th at 7 PM at the Town Hall.

Respectfully submitted,

Nan Schwartz

Secretary