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Vassalboro Conservation Commission

Vassalboro Conservation Commission

Telephone	Term Expires	Name	Address
	2010	Mary-Ellen Johnston	191 Priest Hill Road, Vassalboro
923-3836	2010	Steve Jones	55 Quaker Lane, Vassalboro
923-3397	2011	Holly Weidner	320 Main Street, Vassalboro
	2011	Paul Mitnik	700 Cross Hill Road, Vassalboro
923-3483	2012	David Jenney	844 Cross Hill Road Vassalboro

Brochures on Land in Conservation in Vassalboro:

Kennebec Land Trust - Davidson Nature Preserve Brochure (pdf document)

Kennebec Land Trust - Vasalboro Wildlife Habitat Brochure (pdf document)

Report of the Vassalboro Conservation Commission, May 2008-March 2009
Prepared by Mary Ellen Johnston for the 2009 town meeting.

Vassalboro Conservation Commission members:
Mary Ellen Johnston, Chair
David Jenney
Steven Jones
Paul Mitnik
Holly Weidner

May 2008 meeting: The Commission developed an amendment to the Ordinance written in 1988 that laid out the responsibilities of the Vassalboro Conservation Commission. This was presented at the Town Meeting in June 2008 and was passed unanimously.

June meeting: Forester, Vite Vitale attended our meeting to go over the Forest Management Plan that he prepared for Vassalboro in 2003. This was an opportunity for the Commission to read and understand the plan and the recommendations made in it by Mr. Vitale. The 49 acres of land off the Bogg Road is the site of ball fields, municipal sand and salt sheds, and a mixture of hardwood and softwood trees. There are snowmobile trails and hiking trails that run through the cut areas of the property. The Commission is particularly interested in looking at opportunities for extending the hiking trails. The Trails Committee works closely with the Conservation Commission, having similar goals and mission. This meeting encouraged us to take the question to the Board of Selectmen: What next? One of the Commission members, David Jenney, attended a Selectmen’s meeting in August to share the Forest Management Plan with the Selectmen and seek their approval to go ahead with some of the recommendations in the plan.

July meeting: An on-going topic for the Commission has been the establishment of a boat launch site along the Kennebec River in Vassalboro. This idea was presented to us last year when the Kennebec River Initiative representative, Josh Platt, came to one of our meetings to share the KRI strategy. River access is a goal of the KRI, and there is no public access point in Vassalboro. The proposal is to find a location where walk -in access for small (non-motorized) boats might be possible. Several obstacles have been identified including the steepness of the slope, landowner approval, and permission from the Guilford Railroad Company. Some field trips occurred last summer to visit potential sites, and we will continue this search in the spring.
We learned that our Town Manager Mary Sabins wanted to refresh the town website, and our member David Jenney has been working with her since July on this project. Information about all of the town activities and services can now be found at www.vassalboro.net.

August meeting: In addition to our on-going topics, we addressed the need to develop an out-reach strategy. The VCC attempted to get the word out about conservation work by holding an open house in April 2008 at the school. The attendance was not what we had hoped for, but we were not discouraged. We have begun to develop a network of partners, particularly among the environmental and land protection organizations in the state. We are still learning about techniques used for conservation and have no financial resources to launch a major project right away. We met with the Planning Board Chair, Ginny Brackett, to discuss our common ground and the need for cooperation. We discussed the idea of an Open Space component to the Site Development Ordinance. The VCC has access to similar ordinances enacted by other towns. The Conservation Commission is now receiving the agendas of the Planning Board meetings so that we can attend their meetings when appropriate.

September meeting: The meeting was devoted to looking at the set of maps called Beginning with Habitat provided by the Soil and Water District in 2005. We are able to locate valuable natural resources around our community and over-lay them on maps delineating roads, property lines, and other data. Our goal is to identify all the large tracts of land with multiple values on them. This inventory will be the first step in developing a conservation plan for Vassalboro. We also discussed opportunities to hold public events or meetings to raise awareness in the community about our conservation commission activities and mission.

October meeting: We returned to the topic of river access, with focus on the Seven Mile Stream inlet to see how steep that slope was. The question of land ownership was addressed and Paul Mitnik volunteered to contact the owners. David Jenney and Holly Weidner walked through the Town Forrest following the existing trails, noting where they could be improved. Some adjacent fields are now of interest as a way to extend the walking trails and have access from Route 32. Working on trails could be done in the spring and summer, inviting community volunteers to help.

November meeting: Joining the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions will cost $150. We have no budget so we would need to request this money from the town. We also discussed the possibility of doing a project with the China Region Lakes Alliance Conservation Corp next summer, regarding the eradication of Purple Loostrife in our lakes. We will invite a CRLA member to one of our future meetings, to find out how we can partner with them.

January 2009 meeting: Mary Ellen Johnston attended the Selectmen’s meeting in November to up-date them about the VCC activities. They were very encouraging and have been supportive of the commission as we continue to define our role based on the Town Strategic Plan. We agreed to request the funds for the dues to the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions. We also discussed the possibility of applying for a Project Canopy Grant from the State Department of Conservation.

February meeting: Commission member David Jenney and Town Manager Mary Sabins attended a workshop for the Project Canopy Grant in Augusta. This was a requirement of any community wanting to apply for these funds. Our category will be Tree Planting and Maintenance. We have determined that this is a good fit for Vassalboro and will be most likely to succeed. The funds will be used to purchase and plant approximately 20 trees on town owned lands around the community.

March meeting: The meeting was focused on the Project Canopy Grant application due in April, with a reply expected in May. We also took some time to review the Vassalboro Sub Division Ordinance that needs clear guidelines for protection of natural resources and for providing open space. This will be done in conjunction with the Planning Board.

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2009 Update on the China Region Lakes Alliance

Doing Good Work

China Region Lakes Alliance, Summer up-date:

For anyone who is not familiar with this program, here is a brief background:

The China Region Lakes Alliance was founded in 1995 to preserve and protect the water quality of area lakes through education and erosion control work. The CRLA members include the Towns of China, Vassalboro, and Windsor, the China Lake, Three Mile Pond, Webber Pond,
and Three Cornered Pond Associations and the Kennebec Water District. The CRLA was awarded another E.P.A. 319 grant for the 2008/2009 construction seasons. The focus of this grant work has been on controlling erosion and NPS problems from agricultural lands and fields.
Not all projects are eligible for funding, but careful consideration is given to every request. The highest priority is given to erosion sites that contribute the most runoff to the lakes. Residents can seek advice on lake related issues or report problems by contacting the CRLA representatives.

Recent activities:
Since 2007 the CRLA has partnered with Kennebec County Soil & Water District for technical assistance on large-scale erosion control projects. This year they have completed projects on FR 37, 43 and S.China Boat ramp just to name a few. They also have work planned on FR 61, FR38, FR10 & 11, and Michaud Farm. This project should reduce sediment & phosphorus into China Lake considerably.

This summer, ten area students were hired to work on the CRLA Youth Conservation Corp (YCC), which is under the direction of Justin Hebert. The YCC completed work in the Three Mile, Webber and China Lake watersheds. The crews were focused on buffers and have many fine accomplishments of buffer work completed this year. The Kennebec County Soil and Water Conservation District has supported our Buffer Strip Initiative projects by designing fine solutions for gravel roads and other stormwater mitigation needs. The DEP has worked seamlessly to support these activities, projects, and helping to streamline the permitting needs.

All in all, the Youth Conservation Corp has accomplishing beneficial- and attractive- water protection projects around our member Lakes. We are very fortunate to have this team, and the organizations that support it, working to improve the quality of our water in central Maine. For more information and to report a potential erosion problem or invasive species issue, contact:

John Blais, Project Director
Kennebec County Soil and Water Conservation District
Central Maine Commerce Center, 21 Enterprise Dr., Suite #1 Augusta, ME 04330
Phone (207) 622-7847 ext. 3 Fax (207) 626-8196 www.KCSWCD.org

Board member include:
China Lake- David Landry 968-2856 david.landry@yahoo.com

Three Mile Pond- Seth Sweetser 445-5862 kimseth@fairpoint.net

Webber Pond - Bob Nadeau 873-2025 nadeau1@adelphia.net

submitted by:
Mary Ellen Johnston
Vassalboro Conservation Commission, Chairperson

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Click here for a link to the Conservation Commission web site.