Conservation Commission minutes December 1, 2014
Present: Larry Siebert, Brian Byrne, Tom Seidel, Margaret Graciano, Pam Smillie, and Dave Matesky. Hank Benesh filmed the meeting.
Absent: Mike Dufilho
A motion was made to approve the minutes from the November 5th meeting. This was seconded and unanimously approved as amended.
The conservation commission needs to prepare our year-end report. Larry will put together some notes and we can work on it via e-mail.
We need to turn in our conservation easement monitoring reports for the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. These are due January 15th. We will complete them in the next few weeks.
How do we plan for the 2015 budget?
We reviewed our 2014 Expenses and discussed what we might do next year:
Larry believes that we may need to redo the Jackson Falls parking area. Dave wondered if this is our responsibility or the town's? Pam thinks that creating increased parking will result in additional overuse. The commission decided that we could improve the parking, not increase it.
Margaret asked if we could put up more re- vegetation signs and ropes along Carter Notch Rd. above the new staircases to prevent people from continuing to use the cat tracks.
All the members present agree that we need to minimize cutting as much as possible. This spring, Larry would like to concentrate on planting and seeding at the falls as much as we can to regenerate growth. Pam suggested that we need more soil below the primary parking lot because the conservation mix we seeded didn't take and needs to be redone.
Margaret thinks we really should eliminate parking outside the lot on Carter Notch Rd. entirely. Visitors should only be allowed to park in the designated parking area. That's it. Even down low, according to easements, the lot across from the Wentworth Hotel is technically not supposed to be a parking area.
At the last meeting Larry polled the public and everyone was in favor of interpretive signs at Prospect Farm around the apple orchard and cellar holes. They were also in favor of creating loop trails. 2015: Loop trails.
Margaret asked if we now have a clear understanding of town resident's right to use the ski trails at Prospect Farm.
Larry believes that JSTF intends to have a meeting in December to throw out ideas for how Jackson residents might be able to ski for free at Prospect Farm. It's still under debate and hasn't become official yet.
Selectmen decided that at Prospect Farm:
No off road vehicle use.
Camping is allowed but not encouraged or promoted. Fire permits are required.
Residents may obtain the gate key for game removal.
Stump dump is closed officially.
Larry asked what we are going to do about knotweed in 2015?
Pam doesn't want to spray. At all.
Hank's mom found an article about the discovery of a worm that eats knotweed. Whoa! Dave wants to know what it eats when it runs out of knotweed?
Brian made a motion to approve paying Rick Davis $1,680.00 for mowing at Prospect Farm. The motion was seconded and approved.
Larry mentioned that Linda Comeau could still come speak to us about conservation easements. Margaret really wants her to come. She is interested in still putting Prospect Farm into an easement.
Brian is wondering who owns the easement property along the Ellis River ski trail. The sign says it was put into an easement by Arthur Doucette but we are unclear who owns it.
Larry put up the interpretive signs on the Mystery House loop. One sign still needs to go up and we may need to do a bit of trail work to more clearly designate the trail. Thanks for doing it, Larry!
The meeting adjourned at 6:27pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret Graciano
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