December 2022 Meeting

Dec 20th, 2022 at 7p, Norwich Historical Society (277 Main Street) and over Zoom

Join meeting via Zoom (meeting ID: 966 3633 0827, passcode: 721389).

Agenda

  1. Public Comments
  2. FY24 Budget Requested
  3. Norwich Times
  4. Milton Frye Nature Area Committee
  5. Trails
  6. Vermont Invasive Management Day
  7. Schmidt Fen
  8. Deer Exclusion Demonstration Plots
  9. News Updates from Public Forums, Meetings, and Minutes
  10. Approval of September & November Minutes

Minutes

Members Present Craig Layne (Chair), Lynnwood Andrews, David Hubbard, Andrew Torkelson, Suzanne Leiter
Guests Tammy Heesakker

Meeting convened at 7:05 PM

Public Comments

Tammy commented that she thought the NCC was doing a great job.

FY24 Budget Appropriation Request: Craig submitted the NCC budget to the Selectboard last week. It seemed to be well-received.

Norwich Times

Lynnwood threw out three ideas of what to write for the next article due in early February. It can only be about 600 words. The group had some suggestions. Lynnwood will decide which topic to cover.

Milton Frye Nature Area

An interest group met to discuss the natural area and its name. Craig made a motion to appoint Chris Rimmer, Lynnwood Andrews, and Craig Layne to the committee to coordinate planning and management of the Nature Area. Lynnwood seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. Lynnwood reported on receiving seeds for the Nature Area and how she plans to sow them. She also mentioned the continuing problems of invasives, especially buckthorn.

Trails

The Trails Committee has not met recently. There was a workday in late fall at Woody Adams which included creating water bars, digging ditches and other maintenance work.

Vermont Invasives Management Day

Bernard Paquette from Jericho emailed NCC about his work to create an Invasives Management Day in Vermont. He is asking for a letter of support. Craig will forward the email to everyone to see if anyone wants to write the letter. There was consensus that we support Bernard’s efforts.

Schmidt Fen

With the help of Bob and Lisa Holley, Craig met with a few neighbors of the fen to discuss boardwalk repairs, the use of the trails, and the buckthorn problem. The group of neighbors did not seem to have a problem with informal access to the fen. They did not seem to want any kind of changes to the trail, signage, or the boardwalk. Craig reported that the lady slipper area of the fen is largely a buckthorn swamp now and that lady slippers have not been seen in a decade. Andy is going to contact Redstart and ask for a consultation on how best to deal with the buckthorn. The Holleys and the commission are still interested in coordinating buckthorn management and re-establishment of lady slippers.

Deer Exclusion Demonstration Plots

There is interest in constructing deer exclusion areas as educational tools about the damage that deer cause. Craig will ask Cheryl and Alex if they want to take the lead on this project. Placing two at Milt Frye and on other town land was discussed.

News Updates from Public Forums, Meetings, and Minutes

Nothing to report.

Approve Minutes

Lynnwood Andrews made a motion to approve September minutes. The motion was seconded by Andy and approved unanimously. Commissioners will approve the November minutes at the next meeting.

The meeting ended at 8:03 PM. Minutes compiled by Suzanne Leiter.