Conservation Commission
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Meeting Minutes

HCC Members present: Harry Wolhandler, Don Scott, Ralph Zingaro, John Sandri, Kathy Scott, Jordan Long.  Absent: Tom McGregor
Members of the public: Doug Miller, Andrew Powers

Agenda, Minutes of previous meeting – Members approved the agenda and the minutes of the July meeting.

Restoring Native Vegetation – Community Conversation is Monday, August 11, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at the Granite Mill, 169 Main Street. Topic: Knotweed Removal and Restoring Native Vegetation. Andrew Powers expects to attend and noted he will be spraying in Dublin again this year, and also Wilton. Mr. Power shared his inventory of the approximately 71 locations along roadsides throughout town, where knotweed was spotted. The HCC will send a letter and a “cooperator to the relevant property owners to explain the program and ascertain interest in having any additional knotweed on their property sprayed at no cost to the owners. Spraying would occur sometime in September.  Mr. Powers will send photos to the HCC to create a map for the Community Conversation. David Konesco from the DOT will also attend.

Patten Property – Report on Annual Monitoring – Monadnock Conservancy representative noticed encroachment by abutter’s fencing during the annual walking and survey of the parcel boundaries.  Mr. Wolhandler will request more information from the Conservancy and notify the Select Board for the town to reach out to the property owner as appropriate.

Town Rail Trail – The Town is applying for a Wetland Permit by Notification to DES to restore embankment erosion and replace 30” pipe and create small pocket park with benches on the Sanford Pond section of the town rail trail. The Select Board and Town Clerk have signed the application paperwork. Mr. Wolhandler signed for the Conservation Commission. Don Scott will submit.

Preserving Hemlocks – $8500 remains in allocated funds for the beetle project to help preserve hemlocks. The HCC will submit an item on the continuation of the project to Common Threads. Members discussed fundraising needs for the purchase of additional beetles. Members noted they have additional optimal release sites at Silver Lake and in the village. (Low hedges are optimal for releasing.) The HCC has released 1500 beetles and had initially planned to release 3,000.  Members also discussed the optimal time for another visit from Dick McDonald for monitoring.   Ralph Zingaro will reach out to him. HCC members will return to this in September.

Reports of Bladderwort (native plants) and other weeds – Chesham Pond, Russell Reservoir property owners have expressed concerns about the quantity of bladderwort in their ponds. The HCC noted they’re not invasives but are native and have a natural lifecycle and can flourish when water levels are lower.

Recycling Styrofoam – Collection on August 19 @ Wells Memorial, after which it will get driven by volunteers to Guilford. Members discussed possible storage locations on town property and ideas about ways to transport.  The chair will research bags, their cost and how to obtain them.  The HCC will continue to discuss this next month.

Reports on actions of other town committees and environmental groups
     –Silver Lake Association Annual meeting – Doug Miller noted the Silver Lake Association’s annual meeting is Saturday, August 30, at 10 am at Brantwood Camp on Breed Pond Road in Nelson (Rain location: Wells Memorial school auditorium on Chesham Road). The Association would like to invite Conservation Commission representative(s) to attend. They are particularly interested in invasive species and wooly adelgid/hemlock disease. Separately Mr. Miller noted the presence of wooly adelgid at 40 Westside Road. HCC members will visit.

The meeting adjourned at 5:15 pm.