Sutton Conservation Commission (SCC)

Meeting Minutes

January 10, 2018

 

 

Present: Dan Sundquist, Chair; Don Davis; Jane Williamson; Henry Howell; Debbie Lang; Chuck Bolduc; Barbara Hoffman and Bonnie Hill, secretary. Absent: Chris Ashton, Wally Baker. Debbie sat in for Chris.
Appointments: 7:00 PM Andy Deegan of ASLPT.

Call to order: Dan Sundquist called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.

Previous Meeting’s Minutes: A motion was made by Chuck and seconded by Deb to approve the minutes of December 13th, 2017, and they were approved unanimously.

Financial Report:
No town budget report was provided. Dan believes that we finished the year with a surplus. He will pay membership dues to ASLPT, the Forest Society, and NHACC.

Correspondence:
• Membership renewal notice from the Forest Society for annual dues.

Review of Wetland Applications and Issues:
• None.

Review of Intents to Cut and Logging Issues:
• None.

Appointment
Andy Deegan from ASLPT regarding transfer of 8 acres of land to Town of Sutton—Since he last spoke to us, Andy has gone before his board and they voted in favor of donating the land. His purpose in meeting with us today is to find out what kind of conservation easement SCC wants to put on the piece of land formed by the merger of Webb/Crowell, the Sprout Lot, the tax-deeded Wells lot, and the new 8 acre parcel donated by Woodlot & Grange. Someone asked what the consequences would be if the parcels were merged into one. Andy answered that they could not be subdivided in the future. Dan asked if a boundary survey was needed, and Andy replied that he thinks it was already surveyed, except for maybe the Wells lot. He explained that an easement normally contains a Permitted Uses section, which includes activities such as farming and timber harvesting, and a Reserved Rights section, which lists activities that would normally be prohibited. Henry asked about a solar power system, and Andy said that would be permitted, if it were mostly for local use. Dan asked about bridges and structures, and Andy said they are permitted if they support public recreation such as hiking. Don asked what if someone wanted to graze cattle, and Andy replied that leases are permitted for uses that fall within the Permitted Uses list, such as agriculture. Henry asked if nuisance beavers could be trapped, and Andy said yes; the ASLPT’s standard easement allows hunting and trapping if the owner wants it. Towns are allowed to post against uses such as mountain biking and camping. Henry asked, what if the town wanted to turn the land into an ATV park? Andy said that his concern is with the condition of the land, and whether it would be suitable for agriculture in the future. If an ATV park could be operated in a way that did not ruin the land, it would theoretically be all right, but he did not see how this would be possible in real life. Henry asked about a shooting range, and Andy said there would be a hazardous waste issue. Also, he pointed out that commercial activities are prohibited, so people could not be charged to use the facility. Henry said he noticed up on the ski trails at KHR that snowmobiles have heavily compacted the snow, and he wondered if this, along with the noise, has an impact on wildlife. Andy said there has been no definitive study. Dan said we need a copy of the easement before we can vote on it. Andy said to give him ideas and he will draft a document for the SCC’s consideration. Responding to a question about money, Andy said the donated money would cover the stewardship fee (about $5000), and the town would only need to pay attorney’s fees.

New business

Kings Hill Road Class A Trail warrant article update— Dan prepared a Briefing Paper on the proposed conversion of part of King Hill Rd to a Class A trail, in which he laid out the reasons for doing the conversion. He said Elly has been working with the town attorney on this. The attorney says we don’t actually need to hold a public hearing on it; we just need to disseminate the information before Town Meeting. SCC will post a warrant article in the Town Report, and this will be voted on at Town Meeting. Dan will get his briefing paper into the Town Report, as well. We will need bullet-proof language for the warrant article. Dan suggests we have a public information session, on February 21st. He will make a PowerPoint presentation. If the article passes, there will be expenses for gates and work. About 5500 feet of road would be converted. Once the road is no longer Class 6, then a locked gate can be installed, and signs can be posted prohibiting motorized vehicles other than snowmobiles. The abutters (Messer and Chinberg) would be given keys to the gate. The Forest Society just happens to have six heavy duty metal gates that they will sell for $1000 apiece, and they will hold one for us until after the March vote. Dan says Steve Bagley’s crew would install the gate and move some car-sized boulders in place to block vehicular access to the Bean Quarry. Deb asked whether there has been correspondence with the abutters, and Dan said not yet. He has contacted the SRKG board and asked them for a letter of support. Dan will talk to Bob Preston of the Sutton RidgeRunners snowmobile club. Chuck pointed out that they will need a key to the gate. Or maybe the gate will be left open in winter. Andy Deegan was asked if he knew of any other ASLPT parcels where this kind of thing was done. He said that on Star Lake Farm, the town of Springfield is relinquishing the Class 6 roads, as a condition of the easement. Don said that Charlie Forsberg tried to have all of Kings Hill Rd converted a few years ago and it was voted down at Town Meeting. Dan said one reason is that the road is actually Class 5 up to the Hosmers.

Sutton Strategic Conservation Plan: Part 1 Briefing Paper—Dan wrote up a Natural Resources Briefing Paper and handed out copies to everyone to take home to read and come up with questions. There will be at least 2 more installments. We’ll get a dialog going on it at the next meeting, then do the same thing with the next installment. Dan is drawing on what was used in the original 2006 plan. Around April we will do some voting, and Dan will generate a co-occurrence report. People will vote according to their own ideas of what the priorities are, then Dan will code the data layers and the GIS computer will build the plan. Barbara asked if it is a statutory duty for the SCC to create this plan. Dan replied that it is related to the town’s Master Plan. Henry asked what the key parts are that differentiate this from the old plan. Dan said much of the data in the old one is out of date. There is a new and improved set of data, including data that we never had before, such as climate change resiliency data. This data came mostly from the Boston office of the Nature Conservancy, and is a tremendous body of work from over the course of 20 years. We also have new methodologies and new technologies since 2006. The plan is strategic because we are shown the hotspots of conservation. Henry asked, what if the new data conflicts with the old master plan? The answer is that it is possible that this can happen.

Old business

Kezar Lake Natural Area: Update—Jane wrote a letter that she and Don are going to send to the Parks & Recreation Dept. The main thrust is to ask whether Sutton residents can be allowed to park in the state park whether or not they are using the park, and if some parking spots near the road (20 or so?) could be set aside for that purpose. Dan said there is plenty of parking there; the area never fills up even on busy summer weekends. Don will give Jane a name that she can send the letter to.
Miscellaneous
School kids – Don talked to Heidi Thoma about the bridge over the vernal pool at KHR. He told her that Fish & Game has a citizen science program where they encourage vernal pool research, and this would be suitable for school kids. There is a form that they would fill out. Heidi was interested, and said that either the library or the school would definitely do something during the April vacation (April being the time for vernal pools). Don also mentioned that the Stewardship Network of the Cooperative Extension has changed its name to Nature Groupies in an effort to attract young people.
Wildlife trafficking – Bonnie brought up a letter that the Stoddard Conservation Commission sent out to SCC asking for support for SB 451, seeking to close a loophole in the prohibition of wildlife trafficking. Dan read the letter out loud that the Stoddard CC is sending to the legislature. Jane made a motion that the SCC would join with the Stoddard CC in supporting SB 451, and Don seconded. The motion failed to pass.
Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:07 PM.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 21st, 2018, at 6:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Bonnie Hill, Secretary