Jackson Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes
July 6, 2015
Unofficial until Approved
Present were members Margaret Graciano, Pam Smillie, Brian Byrne, Tom Seidel, Dave Matesky, Mike Dufilho, Larry Siebert and town resident George Howard. Hank Benesh filmed the meeting.
The June minutes were approved.
Prospect Farm
Our August meeting will be at 5:00 at Prospect Farm to discuss signage on existing trails and to brainstorm if we want further trails to create loops. Brian and Mike agreed that the map was better than they remembered and think its pretty clear. But we are going to go up and do what we can to minimize confusion.
The public is invited to share your views about what you'd like to see at Prospect Farm. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
We will convene at the Forest Service gate. The meeting will run from 5:00 to 7:00 and we will walk and discuss ideas for expanding the trail network or adding interpretive signs. Wear sturdy footwear and bring whatever you need to be comfortable in the woods for a couple hours.
The landowner of the JSTF parking lot at the end of Carter Notch Rd. is okay with summertime use of the lot.
Brian met a man who was searching for treasures with a metal detector at the Prospect Farm cellar holes. He wondered what our policy is regarding digging for treasure on town land? Tom will speak with the Selectmen about a policy so that we can determine how to proceed.
Tom heard and saw signs of a dirt bike on Boggy Brook Rd. in the last few weeks. The USFS gate is not posted “foot traffic only” as is typical.
George Howard added that the sign by the Jackson XC lot on private land says “Welcome to Prospect Farm,” which is not literally true. A brief discussion of Prospect Farm (town property) vs. Prospect Farm as a catch-all name for XC trails at the end of Carter Notch Rd. followed.
Jackson Falls
Pam said that the seedlings at the Falls are looking great. We intend to visit the Falls at the end of the meeting to discuss our progress and what remains to be done.
We discussed the temporary signs for the Falls and made many changes to the draft from Minuteman Press.
Wetlands Permits
JSTF is in the process of planning their new parking lot on Valley Cross Rd. Brie contacted Tom to inform him that because the square footage of impacted wetlands is small enough, they don't need a permit. Brie is fine with the town's use of this new lot in the summertime as Falls overflow parking.
Larry, Dave and Brian (the Wetlands subcommittee) approved a wetlands permit requested by Dick Fortin for brook trout habitat restoration project on 27 Cross Rd. The project involves the placement of woody debris into the stream to create better brook trout habitat.
Gray's Inn
Tom asked if we ever made a kiosk? We didn't. Brian will build one. We need some additional arrows and signs to clarify the trail direction. We decided that blazes on trees are better than orange signs and Larry suggested that we purchase some wooden routed arrows to have on hand.
Late-breaking New Business
Mike suggested that a member of the conservation commission attend selectmen's meetings regarding the Doublehead parking lot because it is a popular recreation trail in town. Mike noted there are lots of signs on the sides of the road and suggested that perhaps we could advocate for seasonal parallel parking on one side of the road.
A motion was made to move the meeting to the falls. All in favor.
The commission walked around Jackson Falls for thirty minutes. We are very pleased with the town road crew's addition of boulders on Valley Cross Rd., creation of more head-in parking on the corner, completion of the corner rock staircase and additional rip-rap in the heavy erosion zone on Carter Notch Rd. Foot traffic seems to be concentrating on our woodchip designated paths and avoiding our new plantings and seeded sections, although “cat paths” and walking across re-vegetation areas still occurs were there is no twine or signs. We re-blocked some “cat paths” with debris, re-hung twine and moved some re-vegetation signs. We determined where we need additional “no parking,” “head-in parking” and “re-vegetation zone” signs. Larry will discuss road signs with Jay and Tom will purchase additional
stakes and re-veg signs. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret Graciano
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