Dublin Conservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Attending: Jack Lewis (chair), Karen Bunch, Howard Thomas, Ned Whitney, Sue Yarger, Jane Young, Selectmen Sterling Abram and Anne Anable
The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, August 8, 2007 were reviewed and approved.
Dublin Lake: Karen Bunch reported on a number of developments regarding Dublin Lake:
1. Lake Host Program- The summer Lake Host program is complete. The Lake Hosts were on the job weekends all summer, and the volunteer supervisors, Jerry Lawler and Hank Campbell did a super job of structuring, managing and reporting on the program. Jerry will be submitting a final report to us and the NH Lakes Association later this month.
2. Water Testing- Karen Bunch and Felicity Pool have met with Paul Waterman to coordinate water testing, and have worked with him on the use of the VLAP web site which carries the water testing results. Recent water tests were carried out on August 27 and September 11, and a deep spot test is planned for September 17.
3. Weed Watch- Ken Warren and a crew of two others from the NHDES snorkeled Cemetery Cove on August 24 and found no evidence of milfoil (or any other problems- they love coming to our clean, clear lake). A second round of weed watches started on August 30 from the Women’s Club Beach, with a watch from the Boat Launch planned for September 13. While we have found a number of different plants this summer, none of them are problems, and some, like pipewort, are marks of a healthy lake.
Stone Pond – Karen Bunch mentioned that during her conversation with Paul Waterman, Paul had expressed concern about the crowded conditions on the Dublin side of Stone Pond. Marlborough has been testing the pond. If Paul monitors their year-end report each year through the VLAP website, he will be able to gain helpful information about the water quality of Stone Pond . Paul will also be watching for septic and other usage violations there.
Purple Loosestrife Management: Sue Yarger reported that our source for galerucella beetles ran out of beetles by the time the state approved Dublin’s use of the beetles. We are now approved, and we are on the top of the list for getting beetles next year as soon as the Purple Loosestrife appears next spring. Jack Lewis reported that he had talked with several Dublin landowners with infestations of Purple loosestrife and had gotten agreement for the use of the beetles from some, but not yet all, of them.
Cemetery Cove Silting and Cemetery Expansion near Old Pound Road: We have been in contact with NHDES, and expect a visit from one of their staff during the week of September 17.
Howe Reservoir Field: The Commission voted to have the Howe Reservoir field mowed this fall, to prevent it from reverting to forest.
Open Space: Jack Lewis and Sterling Abram announced that the Board of Selectmen had formed an Open Space Committee with Sterling Abram, Anne Anable, Ed Germain, Betsey Harris, Henry James, Jack Lewis, Bruce Simpson, Mike Walker, and Sue Yarger as members. The first meeting of the Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 13, and it appears that the Committee’s first task will be to review the result of the work of the 2006 Ad Hoc Open Space Committee and to begin to create an Open Space Plan for the town.
2008 Budget: The Commission reviewed the first draft of the 2008 budget, which was handed out by Jack Lewis. Commission members noted that Lake Monitoring costs would likely be higher than shown on the first draft budget, and that the Commission should be more active in invasives control than it had been in 2007. Sterling Abram recommended that we look at the budget from a long term, programmatic point of view (where do we want to focus and how do we budget over time so that we aren’t suddenly hit with major budget needs) in addition to looking specifically at next year. Jack noted that a draft of a 2008 budget had been asked for by September 17, but that we could continue to review and modify after that date. He asked that members get back to him with thoughts
about areas needing more (or fewer) dollars for 2008.
Meeting Schedule: The Commission agreed to meet at 7 PM on the second Wednesday of each month for the rest of 2007. Specific dates are October 10, November 14, and December 12.
Outside Activities:
· Monadnock Conservancy Annual Meeting August 25, 2007 – The meeting highlighted several major activities in the past year, including the Conservancy’s important role in the purchase of the Beech Hill Hospital property, and the consummation of easements on several properties abutting Frost Pond in Jaffrey, on Dublin’s southern border. Dublin’s Betsey Harris was honored with a major award from the Conservancy.
· The Forest Society Annual Meeting is scheduled for September 29, 2007
· The SouthWest Regional Planning Commission has a number of interesting workshops scheduled this fall, and Anne Anable handed out copies of the workshop descriptions and registration forms to the Commission members.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 PM.
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