Conservation Commission Agenda
WEATHERSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Center Meeting House, 7:00 pm
• Approval of Minutes—March 22, 2018 Meeting
• New Public Noticing System
• Groundwater Protection Update?
• WCC Program Updates: Invasives (Jeff), Bobcats (Roy), Lyme (Heather)
• New Members/Member Requirements
• Conferences/Workshops
• Other/New Business
Next Meeting: June 28, 2018, Center Meeting House, 7:00 pm.
WEATHERSFIELD CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
MAY 24, 2018
Meeting called to order at 7:05 and adjourned at 8:30 PM
Attending: Heather Shand, Howard Beach, Roy Burton, Harry Temple and Tina Wood
NEW PUBLIC NOTIFING SYSTEM—Jeff will check this out and find out what this means for us.
GROUND WATER MAPPING—Howard is a new Planning Commission member and has also been appointed to The Connecticut River Joint Commission. He will be our liaison between the organizations. Howard reported that they are still working on the Town Plan revision. He has rewritten the section on ground water protection based on the state model and critiqued it based on his experience in Conn.
State regulations on well-head protection have increased. Relocation of water sources in Perkinsville, for example, or sewage systems, would be difficult to comply with these new regulations. If the town of Springfield were to extend their sewer system as far as the airport, it would then be cheaper for Perkinsville to connect to their system.
UPDATES ON PROGRAMS—Jeff said that Dan Healy and Tom Groves from Longview Forestry have proposed two half-day programs on Invasive Species in the forest for $500 or else $350 for one. This needs to be scheduled for some time this summer and Jeff will propose some dates to them.
Roy is investigating a proposed talk on Bobcats by wildlife biologist, Kim Royer. This would be a free talk in October on a Sunday afternoon to encourage attendance by children. Roy will check with Kim for a possible date.
Heather is investigating a possible talk on lyme disease. She went to a talk at Sojourns by Alexis Chesney and will check with her about giving a talk preferably this summer when we’re all thinking about ticks. This could be sponsored in conjunction with the Library.
A talk by Jim Esden, Vt. State entomologist, on the Emerald Ash Borer might be possible to arrange. He is available after August 5. There would be no fee for the presentation.
NEW MEMBERS AND REQUIREMENTS—Heather will contact a few possible candidates who were suggested. Faithful attendance and an interest in Nature would be important attributes. We need two more members.
NEW BUSINESS—Jeff will be taking weekly samples of water quality at the North Branch of the Black River near Ascutney Basin Rd. for BRAT (Black River Action Team). He will be collecting water samples between 7 and 8 AM once a week and send them away for evaluation. The results of ecoli contamination will be posted at various places around town. He will forward results to us.
We will invite the new Land Use Administrator, Sven Fedorow, to a future meeting.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST—June 10: A Walk on a Glacial Esker which Jeff will lead. Meet at the Crown Point Campground at 2 PM.
Next WCC Meeting: June 28, 2018, at 7:00 PM at the Center Meeting House.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tina Wood
ACTION ITEMS:
Heather: Follow up on Lyme talk.
Invite Land Use Admin.
Contact possible new members.
Jeff: Invite Longview Foresters for a talk and walk.
Roy: Arrange talks with Kim Royer and Jim Esden
Tina: Forward Ottauquechee chart on tick growth and frequency.