LYME CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes
October 1, 2007
Academy Building Meeting Room
The meeting commenced at 7:25pm with the following members present: Matt Stevens, Dick Jones, James Graham, Adair Mulligan, and Vicki May.
Dick made a motion to approve the minutes for the September 10, 2007 meeting and the Sept 24 public presentation. Adair seconded the motion and the Commission voted to approve.
Regarding the recent site visits to the Skiway and the Roby/Bokerman properties: Matt mentioned that DES was looking for more information from the Skiway for their permit. Adair mentioned that the ZBA is looking closely at the C.C. recommendations for guidance in making their decisions. Dick pointed out that it is not the job of the C.C. to delineate wetlands. It was generally agreed that our site visits are a means to get a general impression of the impact that projects will have on land of conservation value and also to provide an opportunity for the Commission to advise and educate landowners on best practices in caring for their land.
Regarding Burke Cunningham’s request to bait bears in the Town Forest, both the Commission and the Selectmen decided unanimously that bear baiting should not be allowed in the Town Forest. Matt expressed concern about not having a stated policy for hunting and trail use. Dick said we should deal with questions as they arise because a written policy was unlikely to cover all the issues.
There was some discussion on the merit of maintaining the Clay Brook Trail extension that was severely damaged by the Nor-easter. It was generally agreed that the Western Forest Trail re-route should be the priority and that it was unlikely the Commission would have the resources for maintaining the Clay Brook Extension trail.
Regarding recent requests to breach the beaver dams in the Chaffee Wildlife Sanctuary: Dick reported that (1) today the water level gauge read 2.58 feet, (2) the route 10 culverts are blocked by beaver work, and (3) both Clay brook dams have been rebuilt with the lower dam having the more significant drop. James said the water level is below 3.0 feet and that there’s no special circumstance that merits breaching the dam. Matt pointed out that the pipes are doing their job in helping to maintain the level. James said that unless there is some real proof, such as soil samples, we should not attribute the problem of the wet playing fields to the water level of Post Pond. Dick mentioned that the Selectmen had recently agreed to have Pathways Consulting study the
problem of the wet ball field. It was agreed that there is no reason to seek more money for more beaver pipes at this time.
Dick brought up the subject of the availability of PSNH grant money for land conservation projects. The Commission agreed that there are no specific projects at this time that merit an application for this grant.
Regarding the Keene easement, Dick motioned to authorize the chairman to sign off on the request when it is presented. The Commission has been fully informed of this easement. Vicki seconded the motion and the motion was carried unanimously.
Vicki mentioned that townspeople had expressed interest in accessing the GIS data collected for the NRI. She advocated making the data available to the public by way of a public workstation. James mentioned that some townspeople had expressed interest in that to him as well. Dick expressed concerns about the cost and the public’s ability to use the software effectively. Vicki agreed to follow-up with Lee and will ask him to request John and Elise from Watershed to Wildlife to give an estimate of the cost of a read-only GIS workstation.
Dick moved to adjourn at 8:22. Vicki seconded and the motion was carried.
James Graham, recorder
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