New Town Forest Planning Committee

MINUTES of March 5, 2009

Opening

The meeting of the New Town Forest Planning Committee was called to order at 7:30 pm on March 5, 2009 in the Town Hall by Kristen Sharpless.

Present

Kristen Sharpless (chair), Lenore Budd, Stewart Pierson, Andrea Morgante, Michael Snyder, Kathleen Tarkington

Absent

Jean Isham

Report on Recruiting New Members

The committee decided to make another recruiting effort via the contact information given during the fall 2008 walks.

Approval of New Format

There was undisputed approval of the new format for recording meeting minutes. They will be posted on the town website along with the date and times of all future meetings.

Submission of New Town Forest Name Proposal

The need to solidify an official proposal to the select board was addressed. The committee voted and unanimously decided upon “The Laplatte Headwaters Town Forest”. The committee approved naming the upper meadow on parcel 1 the Bissonette Meadow in order to recognize the land’s cultural history and pay deference to past land owners. We will wait to submit said proposal once we are able to receive input from members that were not present at this meeting.

Continued Review of Recreation Section of Management Plan

Members continued the review of the draft section complied by Lenore and Stewart. Members began to solidify an overarching format for the management plan. The creation of a permanent committee to oversee the implementation of the management plan was discussed.

Future Community Involvement

Members expressed a desire to begin the next cycle of forest walks with a bird and wildflower mother’s day walk. The possibility of coordinating a volunteer trail day was also brought to the attention of the members.

Next Meetings

The next meeting will be on March 19, 2009. It was decided that the committee will move on to discuss the forest and wildlife section of the management plan.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00PM.

Respectfully submitted by Kathleen Tarkington