Minutes
Open Space committee
Nov 3, 2015
Those Present: Nancy Rea, Chair, Tom Slack, Bob Jackson, Lynn Southey, Liz McDonald
Agenda approved
Minutes of Sept. Meeting Approved with corrections including insertion of FRH report (Lynn S), which had been omitted.
Reports
Chair: Nancy Rea. OSC 5 year plan including executive summary, purpose, and goals presented to WCT for their endorsement. Nancy will present the report to BOS at their next meeting on Nov 10. Brian Carlson has completed the Open space survey report, which shows that 95% of Wellfleet residents (mostly year round) believe that preservation of open space in the town is very important to them. Nancy will also report this to the board.
OSC will request $3000 from the budget for the next fiscal year, the same figure allocated to us from last year’s budget.
Vice Chair: Tom Slack. NRAB chair John Riehl was asked to review OSC 5-yr plan and send letter of support to BOS. NRAB will discuss the town lots we are proposing for Conscom protection at their Nov. meeting.
Standing Assignments
Property Management: Bob J. Assistant Conservation Officer Doug Guey-Lee is aware of the need for annual inspection of Town properties. AmeriCorps staff will provide help with this. Property inspection falls under the responsibility of Conscom. OSC has volunteered to help with this over the past few years.
Trail Guides. Lynn S. : Some assembly will be needed; a time will be scheduled for committee member volunteers.
Liaison Reports
Friends of Herring River, update for October 2015.
Ongoing contract activity such as design continues for the for the CNR bridge (with a permitting goal of June 30th), and Low lying roads, High Toss, Private properties, and Mill Creek. Also, studies of rare species and Cultural Resources are important. Of particular importance is the crossing at High Toss and the need to prepare for a public meeting and then a recommendation to the BOS, followed by completion of design and permit application.
On Wednesday October 14th, Carrie Selberg, Deputy Director for Habitat, NOAA office of Habitat Conservation, visited friends of Herring River for a briefing on the project and a tour of the dyke.
FHR is planning to hire an Administrative/Project Assistant with strong personal and technical skills. This is a grant funded part time position.
The last of the FHR’s seminar series will be held this Thursday at 3:00pm at the library: “The Critter Talk: What Lived, Lives and Will Live in the River”. Barbara Brenessel and Ethan Estey, the herring warden, will talk about the animals and rare species of the Herring River and the impact of the dyke. The earlier talks were very well attended and well received.
The State of the Wellfleet Harbor conference (this Saturday, the 7th, from 8:30 to 1:30, will include the following talks: Adaptive Management for the Herring River Restoration Project; River Herring Spawning Migration Success in the Herring River; Blue Carbon and the Herring River.
The Herring River Restoration Committee is holding a science conference all day on Friday November 6th at the National Seashore Headquarters with a focus on Adaptive Management and Blue Carbon. There will be more on this at the Harbor Conference.
The latest newsletter can be found on the website: www.friendsofherringriver.org.
Next meeting: November 13, 8:00 am at Friends of Herring River Office. *
Tom S. will fill in as Lynn’s substitute.
CPC: Bob J. Next meeting 11/8. OSC will furnish a list of needs for CPC funding for open space.
WCT: (see also chairman’s report). Clean up day for all conservation lands and trails was held on Oct. 19. Denny O’Connell organized the work at each of the sites. Volunteers from WCT, OSC and others appreciated the assistance provided by 3 AmeriCorps members.
Old Business
5-Year Plan: See notes above with chairman’s report. In addition, we discussed the value of open space to home buyers and renters as evidenced by real estate ads which emphasize the proximity of their properties to conservation land, trails, open recreational use space, etc.
This will also be conveyed to the BOS when the survey is presented.
Children’s Trail Activities: See previous minutes re Bob J.’s proposal that we develop materials for children and families to use on conservation trails. Some of us were able to get to Fox Island and look around for suggestions of items for a “scavenger hunt” or educational opportunities that might be in
a handout to use in exploring each of the trails. Jane Cole Geisler provided Bob with an check off sheet with drawings that Mass Audubon uses that might be a starting point for us. Bob will review our input and we’ll discuss further at the next meeting.
Properties for Consideration
Lynn S., reported on a 5 acre parcel which has recently been listed for sale at $475,000. (Map 29-#293) It abuts existing protected marshland but there are some legal access issues pending. WCT has discussed this property and is waiting on the access issue.
Next Meeting Dec 8, 2015, 4pm, Town Hall
Tom Slack, Secr, OSC