Conservation Commission Minutes 01.16.18

Bradford Conservation Commission
DRAFT Minutes
January 16, 2018, 7pm at Brown Memorial Library

Present: George Beaton, Seth Benowitz, J Ann Eldridge, Meg Fearnley, Patty Furness, Scott MacLean, Brooks McCandlish.

Secretary’s Draft Report: The draft minutes of 12/19/17 were reviewed and accepted as read.

Treasurer’s Report: Meg stated the 2017 town appropriation has been expended, with the remaining $56 transferred to the Land Protection Fund. Brooks will be contacting Michael James of the Budget Committee to inquire about a possible information session with BCC members regarding investing conservation funds in markets with higher rates of return than our current CDs.

Saving Special Places 2018: This annual land conservation conference will take place Saturday, April 7 at Prospect Mt High School in Alton. Details and registration will be accessible online in February.

Bradford Hazard Mitigation Plan Committee: The next meeting will be Wednesday, January 17, 10am at the community center. George volunteered to attend when it was noted there will be pizza.

ATV Use on Class 6 Roads: The need for documentation of erosion damage due to ATV and OHRV use on some of Bradford’s Class 6 Roads was discussed. Roads affected include Smith, Rowe Mt, Liberty Hill and Day Pond.

Eagle Scout Project: Patty contacted Brady Lombard regarding his proposed idea of building a box to collect discarded fishing line at the Lake Massasecum boat landing. His project has changed direction and now will focus on constructing an information kiosk on the Bradford segment of the rail trail. We applaud this young man’s dedication to the Scouts and our community.

SB451: This bill prohibits the trafficking of endangered wildlife products such as elephant tusks and rhino horns in NH. The hearing of the bill was today, January 16.

Warner River Nomination to NH River Protection Program: SB 445 passed unanimously in the NH Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee January 16. The next hearing will be before the full senate, after which it will journey through the NH House in March.

Bible Hill Road Subdivision: Comments from the BCC were submitted to the ZBA.

County Road Junkyard: There will be a public hearing on Tuesday January 23. Comments from the BCC will focus on encouraging the owner to participate in the NH Green Yards Program.

Town Properties Inventory: The previously reviewed list was submitted to Karen for inclusion in the Bradford Annual Report.

BCC 2017 Annual Report Draft: The year’s summary was reviewed and additions made. Relevant photos will be included before submission for the Bradford Annual Report.

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:10pm. The next meeting will be Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 7pm at Brown Memorial Library.

Respectfully submitted,
Patty Furness, Secretary