New Town Forest Planning Committee

Meeting Minutes - March 19, 2009

Opening

The meeting of the New Town Forest Planning Committee was called to order at 7:30 pm on March 19, 2009 in the Town Hall by Kristen Sharpless.

Present

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

New Members

Lisa Godfrey

Guest

Rocky Martin

Absent

Jean Isham

Report on Recruiting New Members

The committee decided to continue to extend offerings to several other community members in order to raise the group’s number.

Submission of New Town Forest Name Proposal

The group suggested and implemented changes to the proposal letter. The letter will be submitted once all members not present this evening have an opportunity to express their opinion.

Planting Plan Update

Those able to attend the walk with Nancy Patch, the Grande Isle and Franklin County forest, gave an update as to the different factors influencing planting decisions. Andrea expressed the need for volunteers to flag areas for the planting the Intervale will be conducting from the 15^th to the 21^st of May. A desire to begin and maintain photo documentation of the restoration efforts was expressed.

Grants and Projects

The group recognized the need to install some sort of gate to block vehicle access as the spring season arrives. Rocky volunteered to put together a proposal for garnering bids for the collapsed barn. We also spoke of the possibility of applying for grants in order to fund large inherited maintenance issues, such as the need for a bridge over the ever widening erosion gully,

Review of Forest and Wildlife Section of the Management Plan

Members began the review of the draft section complied by Kristen. The semantics of several passages were discussed and modified. A debate arose as to whether or not the restricted and permitted uses should be restated at the beginning of each management section.

Future Community Involvement

It was decided that Andrea and Allison would lead and Birds and Blooms Mother’s Day walk from 4-6 p.m. Andrea will take charge of advertising in the Record as well as online. The possibility of a bat walk or mushroom walk in June was also proposed.

Next Meetings

The next meeting will be on April 2, 2009.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00PM.

Respectfully submitted by Kathleen Tarkington