It was a very short night on August 3 when the members of the Rochester Conservation Commission met for their scheduled hearing; but it was a good night for the town and surrounding areas that enjoy fresh water from the Mattapoisett River Valley.
“We’ve received two mini-grants from the Buzzards Bay Watershed Municipal Mini-grant program,” Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon told the commission.
Farinon said that one grant in the amount of $35,000 would go towards acquiring open land along the Lower River Bend Land Preserve, also known as the Davis property. The parcel covers approximately 18 acres. The other grant in the amount of $25,000 will be used to help acquire lands called the Branch Brook Land Preservation Project, a.k.a. the Roy Hawkes property, which includes 2,900 linear feet directly along Branch Brook that feeds into the Mattapoisett River.
Farinon said that in the past, mini-grants were secured and used for such projects as repairing a fish ladder and performing land appraisals, but that the current grants would go towards land acquisitions. She stressed that it takes multiple funding partners and grant sources in order to purchase lands, but that the importance of protecting these areas from development and keeping them preserved for the purpose of protecting fresh water sources is paramount.
Farinon also noted that wildlife habitats also benefit when properties are placed in conservation protection.
The only hearing on the agenda was a continuation of James Fraser and Katherine Hanson’s Notice of Intent filing for the construction of a studio building at their 361 Snows Pond Road property. The couple has owned the property since 1979.
Hanson had removed invasive bittersweet vines in jurisdictional areas of Snipatuit Pond. Those areas were discussed.
Engineer Douglas Schneider of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates offered a re-planting plan developed by LEC Environmental.
Members of the commission including Chairman Rosemary Smith visited the site prior to the evening’s hearing. Smith commented at the beauty of the property and the landscaping that left her nearly speechless as she uttered, “Wow!”
Schneider said that comments from the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program were still pending for construction of the studio project that will be within 45 feet of a bordering vegetated wetland, and thus the hearing would have to be continued again. He also said that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection returned comments that included an expectation that an existing cart path would not be maintained on the property but allowed to return to a natural state.
The hearing was continued until the next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission scheduled for August 17 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall meeting room.
By Marilou Newell
