July 13, 2016 | Town Admin Conservation Commission (SCC) Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Present: Betsy Forsham, Chair, Don Davis, Dan Sundquist, Henry Howell, Chris Ashton, Ben Dobrowski, Jane Williamson, and Bonnie Hill, secretary. Absent: Jean LaChance and Wally Baker (Jane to sit in for Jean.) Call to order: Betsy Forsham called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Previous Meeting’s Minutes: A motion was made by Henry and seconded by Jane to approve the minutes of June 8, 2016. There being no discussion, the minutes were accepted as written. Financial Report: There is $2210.17 in the town account, which is 68.38% of the budget. There was one expenditure in June, which was to reimburse Don for poster-making. As of May 31, the Conservation Account contained $105,487.84 and the King Hill Reservation account contained $6575.91, for a total of $112,063.75 in the Conservation Fund. Correspondence: Copy of thank you letter from BOS to Henry Howell re work with KRHS at KHR Copy of a “Planning Guide for Successful Invasive Plant Management Projects” from NHACC SRK Greenway summer newsletter Email and phone call from Charlie Ash regarding loon See below. Emails from Dave Anderson re rescheduling his 2.5 hour PK Brown walk to October 1stfrom 9 to He wants the SCC, SRKG, and Trout Unlimited to co-sponsor this with the SPNHF, to help promote it. It will include an intro to the natural history of the area, and will visit the summit and the trout stream Supply Lines with The Source, Summer 2016 issue of the newsletter of the NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau, with article on harmful algae blooms Invitation from the Forest Society to attend the inaugural Conservation Easement Landowners event in Sullivan on August 13th, from 9:00 to 1:00 PM. Thank you letter from ASLPT for the $100 membership contribution, dated July 5th Letter from the Sutton BOS dated July 9th alerting all department heads to a NH Supreme Court decision that holds individual employees liable for workplace discrimination and The ASLPT summer issue of The Chatter Review of Wetland Applications and Issues Abutter notification letter re culvert replacement on Hominy Pot and Lyon Brook, 6/15/16 Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues Complete Forestry Notification, File# 2016-01553, dated 6/1/16, received for Hosmer cut on old Main / Meetinghouse Hill Rd. T/L#4-244,418, good for 2 years. Lord, T/L 2-238,254, Bum Carter Rd., 30 of 70 acres. Tim Wallace, forester. Brunet/Woodlot and Grange, T/L 3-329,058, Eaton Grange Rd., 58.4 of 58.4 acres. Dombroski, T/L 5-336,468, Mastin Rd, 11 of 12.6 acres, Matt Michie, forester. Old Business Update on possible invasive plant in Smiley Grove stream- Betsy gave Amy Smagula some corrections for the draft management plan she sent out. Dan had several concerns with the management plan, as it does not specify who is going to do the work and how it will be paid for, nor does it say who owns the problem. There is nothing in the report about what the state will do. Don asked a question about whether offroad vehicles driving through the brook in winter and then upon the ice over Kezar Lake could spread the plant. Jane asked how other towns handle this kind of thing. Dan said he would draft an email to Amy spelling out these concerns. Overview of Brook Trout program on the 16th –Although only 23 people attended, those who did found it interesting and informative. What to do with SCC’s mowing machines – They have been repaired and are sitting at Gerry Putnam’s, and we need to decide if we are going to use them. If not, we should sell them. Don says they are valuable and do a great job when used. Betsy says the hand-held weed-whacker should be started up and checked. Memorial Bench for Charlie Whittemore – Don informed us that Betty Whittemore has bought a bench and is going to have it engraved. Betty has a site in mind that was special to her and Charlie. It is approximately where the milfoil sign is now, and may require some trees or branches to be cut. Jane was concerned about the tree cutting. Apparently an alternate site is heavily festooned with poison ivy. Betsy suggested that some SCC folks visit the site without Betty to see what the situation is. This may happen next Tuesday afternoon, the 19th. We also need to get permission from ASLPT. New Business Moose carcass retrieval from KHR- M. Murphy, who received the only moose permit in our area, is seeking permission to drive onto KHR to extract a moose carcass, if he successfully takes a moose in October. Betsy says he has done us favors in the past. She made a motion to allow him access, and Henry seconded. All voted in favor. Stevens lot, Kezar Lake– Since the Town/SCC owns the Stevens lot, Betsy was contacted about “cleaning up the beach”. She is not clear what this means, maybe raking the pine needles? This opened a long discussion about litter, including human and animal waste, and beach jurisdiction. Jane picked up litter at the beach and found dog waste in bags, and human urine in a container. Ben brought up a request from an Audubon guy who would like a port-a-potty placed at the beach. Jane said someone approached her about the same matter for the sake of the lake host, and framed it in terms of a workplace issue. Jane pointed out that there are restrooms at Wadleigh which could be used. Betsy said this is a matter for discussion with the select board. Dan volunteered to draft a management plan for the Stevens property to help clarify what our responsibilities, if any, might entail. He will also make a sign for it, using a router, once the property has been given a real name. All are asked to come up with name ideas. A related issue was Charlie Ash’s complaint about people with dogs using the beach area as well as allowing them to harass the loons at their nesting site on Loon Island. He demanded action from SCC, but SCC has no enforcement authority. The island is state-owned, and therefore the state conservation officer would be the one with jurisdiction. Charlie wants signs put up at the boat launch, but this should really be handled by the KLPA. Don said that DRED should be notified if any signs are placed on the island. Disposition of old publications relevant to the SCC and its work– Betsy went through the SCC Library, culled out the outdated publications, and brought the more interesting ones to the meeting to be looked at by the members. Any not picked up will be recycled. SCC Properties Bean Quarry – Some members visited the quarry and saw that Brooks McCandlish did indeed plant baby pine trees. The trail should be re-directed to avoid them. Some alternate trail routes were looked at. Gravel was placed where the log landing was. There is now a lot of exposed granite, as well as some stunning views of Mt Kearsarge. We still need to do a post-cut walk with Brooks, possibly in late summer. Henry put up some arrow signs. Maple Leaf – Don, Jane, Betsy and Bonnie met on July 6th to walk and flag the proposed trail, but this is still a work in progress and will require another visit. Betsy and Bonnie cut brush around the parking lot. A mail box is needed to hold maps, as the existing flap-top box is too hospitable to mice. King Hill Reservation- Henry has a mail box for holding maps and will attach it to the kiosk post. Betsy will provide the maps. Webb/Crowell- Betsy walked there and reported that beavers are back. She flagged a spot where the dam can be viewed. The logging road needs mowing but is still too wet. Don looked at it and said there is an option of cutting down the bank on the right side of the road to make a dry walkway. A larger wet area may require bog bridges. Town Wildlife Area (former Town tree farm) – The pines were never properly managed and are a mess. Betsy talked with Steve Lord, who recommended a thinning. She wants the SCC to think about doing a cut. The wood is poor quality and would only be suitable for chips, but we could possibly break even on it. Betsy needs to look into Ruth Keith’s deed restrictions, and will invite Steve Lord, in his capacity as forester, to take a look. Miscellaneous- Don said Laura Alexander is stepping down. He had some info about the controversial Corvus project in Bradford/Hillsboro: apparently an easement on the land in question may be purchased by ASLPT. He said Dave Anderson is going to lead a hike on Old Home Day (August 21 at 12:45) from the Sutton town green to the graphite mine on Meetinghouse Hill, via his woodlot. Dave is going to go up there with a geology professor beforehand and will most likely gain some interesting info to convey to those on the hike. Don (or Henry?) may lead a walk at KHR in the evening of Friday, August 26th. Henry reported that he left a message for the owner of the Newbury Reservoir, saying what a pristine place it is and how wonderful it would be if it could be protected with an easement. Adjournment: There being no further business, a Motion was made by Jane and seconded by Ben to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. The Motion was unanimously approved. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Hill, Secretary Note Date Change: the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016 @ 6:30 p.m.