Reducing Fire Danger on the Mountain

[Jeff Schumaker]

Who's the bearded fellow to the right of Dan in the last photo?

Jeff

[Mike Fox]

Who's the bearded fellow to the right of Dan in the last photo?

Jeff

That would be a new volunteer named Dom. It was his second time volunteering.

[Tom Casper]

That blower will blow wet leaves as well as dry.  Maybe better with wet as they dont fly around as much.  They just roll!  I use one al the time to keep our small RR track free of leaves and pine needles.

Tom C.

[Steve Leet]

I think you need to open up the right of way and get more sunlight in there!

[Bill Piche]

I think you need to open up the right of way and get more sunlight in there!

Lots of rules about what can and can't be cut on the mountain due to environmental rules, especially down near the bridge. Photo charters get explicit warnings to not even bend saplings. I think we're only allowed to cut down trees that are at risk of falling or pulling down part of the hillside.

[Steve Leet]

Perhaps that needs to be investigated further
if you cannot get more sunlight in there you will continue to need to devote large amounts of labor trying to keep it clear.
I just keep hearing that there are a lot of rules
so apparently that is a sufficient response to end discussion

[Mike Fox]

When we planned the Mountain Extension, we made the decision to only cut the clearing about 20 feet wide, to keep from having the saplings and limbs grow. The thought was to be able to look out through the woods and see further. This is a different approach compared to the 66 feet wide we previously cut to. It does present it's own challenges doing it that way.

We also have 2 shoreland zones we passed through, one on the Mountain at the retaining wall and one at the bridge. Because of those locations being in the shoreland zone, what can be done there is very restriictive. The only thing removable there now would be a hazard tree. And not one that would be a hazard to a good photograph. We can brush cut no more than necessary to maintain the ROW through these areas.

As for the rest of the Mountain, if we wanted to cut it 66 feet wide we could. But not something I would advocate for. I like it the way it is..

[Jason M Lamontagne]

The rules and permitting requirements were thoroughly studied and adhered to- these are not something we created in order to stifle differing opinions or anything like that.

In addition to the shoreland zone we pass by one significant vernal pool.  This required a DEP permit which has significant restrictions on tree clearing.  This is between the culverts known as locations 8 and 9, and is 500’ long.

The remaining row on the mountain is not specifically regulated however the total clearing width of 20’ was part of our site plan submission and was intended to show responsibility to the environment through which we were proposing to construct.  The clearing width was one of a plethora of concerns, which collectively were accepted when our submission was approved.  We could explore a wider clearing outside of the regulated areas (ie outside of the shoreland zones and the vernal pool zone) however the right thing to do would be to revisit this with the town planning board.  Honestly I’m not opposed to that, given the potential reduced fire hazard which is beneficial to the town. 

In any event- as I hope everyone can see, these are not arbitrary requirements.  They were well thought out and well meaning.

Thanks
Jason

[Steve Leet]

I wasn't saying that anything might be arbitrary. I was just commenting that the amount of labor required to keep the mainline clear could be reduced by some further cutting back. I understand there are specific places where it cannot be done, however if you want to reduce a necessary labor, perhaps widening the cut in places would help considerably.

[Ed Lecuyer]

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