Joint Meeting: Forest Advisory Committee
& Friends of the Eastham 1651 Arboretum
Minutes
December 15, 2015
FAC Members present: Steve Gulrich, Chair; Debbie Abbott, Henry Lind, Mike Harnett
1651 Friends present: Debbie Abbott, president; Al Sette, Peter Lancellotti, Steve Gulrich, David Ritchie,
Carol Dobek, Bob McLuckie
Staff present: Mike O’Connor, senior officer, Natural Resources Dept.
Visitor: Mike Guzowski
Meeting called to order: 4:00 p.m.
1651 treasurer’s report delivered by Mr, Gulrich. $4,903.00 in account. Report unanimously approved with no changes.
1651 clerk’s minutes of Oct. 17, 2015 annual meeting delivered by Mr. Lancellotti. Unanimously approved. no changes.
FAC minutes of Sept. 22, 2015 meeting, which included a site walk through Wiley Park, offered by Mr. Gulrich. Discussion of how many plants were struggling was noted, as well as need to update planting plan. Unanimously approved with no changes.
1651 Friends Report: Ms. Abbott noted that the late Fall newsletter was at the post office (copies were available). She also read a letter of thanks from Loretta Neilsen for the Cornus Florida (dogwood) planted in her honor; and reported on the fall planting of wintergreen in a shaded area near the pond.
FAC Report: Mr. Gulrich noted two reasons in particular why the plants were struggling - very poor soil and a critical lack of water. Mr. Lind, attending his first FAC meeting, had a major role with the 1651 Arboretum from its beginning, but hadn’t been involved since 2009. He reported that during a walk through Wiley Park this summer he noticed what was struggling ( the elm, holly, mockernut hickory, beech and white pine trees, in particular), but the sassafras, which he said was borderline invasive on the Cape, was doing fine. Mr. Lind recently used an inexpensive soil analysis kit to test in several areas of Wiley. The procedure is time intensive, but revealed how deficient the soil is in nitrogen and moisture, but sufficient in potash and phosphorus. (A copy of his analysis is attached).
An extensive discussion followed about how we could amend the soil, not only retroactively, but going forward, and different ways of watering including dry water containers and “gator bags,” both of which need to be regularly refilled.
Mr. Lind relayed the fact that in the early years of the Arboretum, they performed weekly watering using a pump at the pond and much hose!
Mr. Gulrich inquired of Mr. Harnett, who serves as chairman of the Eastham Conservation Commission, what we would be allowed to use to augment the soil. He said organic mulch and manure. Mr. Lind said he will talk to Bill Clark, the retiring head of Cape Cod Cooperative, about a better soil analysis, which the 1651 Arboretum will fund. He also will ask for any recommendations Cooperative Extension might have. He said the new Cooperative Extension director, Mike McGuire, is a great resource.
Mr. Ritchie inquired if there might be any other organizations like ours, perhaps on Nantucket, doing what we’re doing. Mr. Lind said they had previously checked and apparently not.
Mr. Sette pointed out that we seem to have “a whole new ball game,” paying attention to and trying to save the plants we have. Mr. Gulrich suggested a 3-prong approach: nutrient supplementation, assessment, and watering. Mr. Lind agreed it’s time to regroup.
Forest Planting Map: As previously discussed, the planting map needs to be updated to include the 2014 & 2015 plantings. Mr. O’Connor reported there have been difficulties both with the GPS operation and the maintenance of the map in a format that can clearly show different groups and individual plantings. The map will need to be larger to be legible. Paul Lagg, the new town planner, has a computer program that may be able to assist us.
Forest Planting Summary Spreadsheet: Mr. Gulrich noted that the summary spreadsheet needs to be expanded to accommodate the project for the years ahead. The Committee discussed making an effort to document survival rates and record these readings on the spreadsheet.
Next Meeting: TBA. Mentioned was the possibility of the two groups meeting again in early spring, after more
information is gathered.
Meeting Adjourned: 5:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Abbott, acting clerk
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