The Essex Conservation and Trails Committee (CTC) has been hard at work on several big projects lately, including:
- Setting up the Conservation Reserve Fund, which passed at Town Meeting in March (thanks to all who voted!) and which will provide assistance to those who wish to permanently conserve land or trails in Essex;
- Rekindling the Trail Caretakers program, where community members can "adopt" a public trail to perform light maintenance and alert Town staff of any major problems;
- Preparing a Street Tree Management Plan, which is currently under review by the Selectboard, to help maintain the health of Essex's urban forest and prepare for emerald ash borer and other pests;
- Reviewing and publicizing the draft Indian Brook Forest Management Plan, written by Chittenden County Forester Ethan Tapper and under review by the Selectboard. The plan proposes light periodic timber harvests to improve the health of the forest and wildlife habitat; to view the draft plan yourself, see the link at the end of this post.
Ethan will lead a walk at Indian Brook on Saturday, June 9th to talk about what the plan would look like on the ground. If you would like to attend, sign up through Essex Parks and Recreation.
If you have questions, comments, or concerns about the projects above, or any other conservation- or trail-related issues, the CTC would like to hear you! The CTC's next regular meeting will take place on June 12th at the Town Offices (81 Main Street) at 6:30pm. Please note the new start time for all future CTC meetings.
The agenda will include the following items:
1. Public Comments
2. Agenda Changes and Approval
3. Indian Brook Forest Management Plan / EHS Internship
4. Development Review
5. Trail Caretakers – Meadow's Edge Project
6. Street Tree Management Plan revisions and presentation to Selectboard
7. Saxon Hill (Forest) Management Plan
8. Minutes: May 8, 2018
9. Other Business
All members of the public are welcome to attend CTC meetings. The full agenda, and other information about the Committee and its work, is available online at: https://www.essex.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B9D793E64-A225-4762-8F4F-F577C48E3014%7D
For more information about anything on the agenda, please contact Town Planner Darren Schibler at 878-1343 or dschibler@essex.org.
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