Wallingford
Conservation Commission Minutes*
*These are
unofficial Minutes subject to the approval at the next regular meeting.
May 29, 2007
Attendees: Debbie
Scranton, Tim Chila, Carol MaCleod, Dawn
White, David Klock, Ralph Nimtz, Peter Upton
The meeting was called to order at
7:10 PM
. Minutes of the previous meeting on
April 23, 2007
were approved.
Old Business
1)
The “Pit” property
Peter Upton has walked the
existing trails around the property with a GPS, and has made a preliminary map
of the trail system.
We will meet on Tuesday, June 19th,
6 PM
at the beach parking lot to begin to clear the existing paths which we’ll
start on the south ridge.
We expressed concern about the
very high water table on our last walk at the Pit on May 14, where much of the
level area was under water, and had running water heading east.
There has been no further word
on whether the Town of
Wallingford
and Phillips are continuing Act 250 for a gravel extraction operation.
2)
Programs held at the Klock Room, Gilbert Hart Library, in May
May 23, Jens Hilke, Vermont Fish
and Wildlife Department of Conservation presented a very informative program
intended for conservation and planning commissions, and was well attended with
representatives from neighboring towns. Of
special interest to
Wallingford
were the detailed maps provided in the power-point presentation of patterns of
development, wildlife paths, etc.
On May 31, we had two speakers.
Shannon Pytlik gave a presentation on the WHIP program, which can provide
funding to landowners to keep land in good conservation practices, helping to
eliminate invasives, keeping fields open by mowing after August 1, etc.
Dove-tailing nicely was a presentation by Mary Beth Adler on Invasive
Species of plants, and methods of trying to eradicate them.
3)
Otter Creek Assessment and Canoe Trails
The Upper Otter Creek Watershed
Council has done considerable mapping and photographs of the Otter Creek,
including buffer strips. Ethan Swift
of the NRC will work with Dave (Ralph?) in canoeing a leg of the Creek near the
village.
4)
Walking
Tours
Brochure – Still in limbo pending Tim’s computer fix
New Business
1)
Orton Planning Project – Dave has not heard back
2)
Public land in town near the river for beautification – Ralph
will research
3)
Don Carlson’s box – Peter has gone through, saved and purged.
4)
Summer Meetings
It was decided to have no
meetings during the summer, and to resume our regular schedule of the 4th
Monday of each month in September, which would mean that our next meeting will
be Monday, September 24. We will
continue to meet informally, such as our up-coming June 19th
gathering to clear trails, or to canoe parts of Otter Creek.
If there is an important issue, we will call, and warn to the public, a
meeting in the summer.
Adjourned
8:20 PM
, Next Meeting Monday, September 24,
7 PM
Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Scranton (Chair) |