Dublin Conservation Commission
Minutes
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Attending: Jack Lewis (chair), Jerry Branch, Karen Bunch, Ed Germain, Suzy Macy and Sue Yarger
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, March 11, 2009 were reviewed and approved.
Invasives Program: Sue Yarger has been in touch with Doug Cygan of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture. He would be willing to come to Dublin in June to talk about invasives. The commission thought that such a talk would be a fine idea, and set a preliminary date of June 18, with fallbacks of June 24 and 25. Sue will check with Doug on his availability for an evening meeting in June. Sue, Suzy Macy and Karen Bunch plan to put an article in the Dublin Advocate, to write to the adjoining towns’ Conservation Commissions to invite them, to let the Garden Club of Dublin know, and to see if the Ledger-Transcript would do an article or announcement.
Lake Host Program: Karen Bunch reported that the Lake Host program is in great shape other than state funding. Bill Goodwin has returned as Point Person, and last year’s conscientious lake hosts are both returning, which reduces training costs. The program is scheduled to start July 4. From a budget standpoint, the town was approved for a $1,000 grant for 2009, the maximum allowed for Dublin’s level of program activity (number of boats inspected). The state has cut back on Lake Host grants as part of its response to its budget problems. Last year we received a grant of $1,500 and used $1,350. We may need to shut down the program early this summer if we run out of funding.
Dublin Lake Water Testing: Karen reported that plans are set for the year’s testing, with the first round of inlet testing on June 2, deep water and beach testing on June 9, July 9 and August 11, and inlet testing again on September 10.
Weed Watch: Karen has planned four Weed Watches, using kayaks, “lookie buckets” and diving. The east side, from Cemetery Cove to Brown Cove will be done in early June and in August from the Women’s Club beach, and the rest of the lake will be done in mid July in one or two sessions from the Boat Ramp.
Howe Reservoir Property: Jerry Branch gave a brief description of the history of the Monadnock Rotary Club’s involvement in making plans for the property. Current status is that the Harris Center and local science teachers have expressed interest in the possibility of the property’s being developed as a learning site., and NHDES has said that a wetlands survey is needed before any work which might involve the property’s wetlands is undertaken. Jerry believes that he has found funding to cover the cost of the wetlands survey.
The next step in the project is for Jerry and Chuck Simpson to make a presentation to the Monadnock Rotary Club on May 19, and then to present to the Commission and the Dublin Selectmen. If all goes well, these meetings will be followed by a Commission sponsored Public Information meeting sometime later this year.
DCC 2009 Budget: The Budget Committee version of the 2009 budget, $4,001 for the year, passed at Town Meeting. This sets the budget at near 2008 levels and leaves little room for funding new activities or covering increased costs.
2009 Easement Monitoring: Easement monitoring was discussed briefly. Sue Yarger volunteered to run this year’s activity. She has recently had an introductory seminar at the Monadnock professional Conservancy, and looks forward to making us all into professional monitors.
Tolman Mud Pond Property: The Zoning Board of Adjustment has approved Matt Tolman’s request for approval to construct a facility of his property on Mud Pond. The approval came with a number of conditions which address concerns raised by the Conservation Commission. Matt may be requesting relief from some of those conditions.
Galerucella Beetles: Sue Yarger reported that she had put in an order for 3000 beetles for this year, to strengthen their presence in a couple of areas and to cover several areas the Commission had missed in the early summer last year. The beetles are scheduled to arrive in two batches, one at the end of July and one in late August. The price for the beetles has gone up moderately, but $300 of the cost will once again be funded by a grant from the Garden Club of Dublin.
Cemetery Expansion: Significant work has been completed on the expansion of the cemetery, and there does not appear to have been any negative effect from runoff into Dublin Lake. The southern expansion includes a wall clearly marking the edge of the wetland, ensuring that no further encroachment into the wetlands between the cemetery and Route 101 will take place. The northern expansion has also defined and protected the wetlands along the base of Beech Hill.
Trail Maintenance: Jack Lewis asked the Commissioners to begin thinking about the degree that the Commission should become more involved with the maintenance and development of hiking trails within Dublin.
Other Business:
- Jack Lewis briefly reviewed the spring schedule of UNH Cooperative Extension activities.
- Jack Lewis stated that the Commission had received a letter from the Harris Center asking for a $50 donation to help fund two $500 conservation related awards for graduating seniors, one at Conant and one at Conval. The Harris Center is putting up $500 and is asking 10 Conservation Commissions to provide $50 apiece. The Commission approved the expenditure unanimously.
- Ed Germain mentioned that the town has a laptop with ARC-GIS installed on it. This is a quite powerful mapping system that Peterborough, among others, has put to good use. It is complex to learn, but available to anyone who wishes to try it.
Meeting Schedule: The next meeting of the Commission will be at 7 PM on June 17, 2009.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.
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