Vassalboro Conservation Commission would like more public support

by Mary Grow

Members of Vassalboro’s Conservation Commission, whose responsibilities include improving and maintaining Monument Park and Eagle Park on Route 32 in and near East Vassalboro, welcome cooperation with related committees and would like more public support.

One topic at their Sept. 10 meeting was a proposal from John Melrose, chairman of the town’s Trails Committee, to put identifying labels on trees in Eagle Park. Committee member Steve Jones said Melrose has tree name plaques that match most of the park’s trees; to use all of them, a few more trees, including a yellow birch, a balsam fir and a hemlock, should be planted.

Committee chairman Holly Weidner supported the idea. Deciding where to plant additional trees was left to Jones and Melrose.

Discussion of renewing Maine Association of Conservation Commissions membership and attending the MEACC annual conference Oct. 25 led to the suggestion a Trails Committee member should represent Vassalboro, since the conference topic is trails.

Committee member Peggy Horner remembered attending a conference and coming back excited about new ideas, only to have her enthusiasm dampened by lack of local interest. Weidner agreed that lack of support discourages volunteers.

One solution she suggested is education: help residents understand that conservation projects have practical benefits, like protecting water quality. She volunteered to meet monthly with Town Manager Aaron Miller and ask him to report to select board members, to encourage their support for conservation commission projects.

Monument Park got more trees recently, bought with commission funds and planted and watered weekly by Jones. Commission members again discussed planting shrubs as part of a waterside buffer. Horner suggested blueberries, which would be low enough not to block views of the lake and would provide fruit.

The no-mow area along the water, intended to control erosion, will be designated next spring and marked – Jones suggested with basketball-sized rocks – so it won’t accidentally get mowed. Jones recommended an explanatory sign, as well.

Weidner reported on two other organizations’ projects, the watershed protection work around Webber, Three-Mile and Three-Cornered ponds and the Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) program run by the China Region Lakes Alliance.

The watershed management group has compiled results of a survey of pollution sources done in May and will share information and recommendations with landowners. CBI inspectors found no invasive plant fragments.

The next Vassalboro Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, in the town office meeting room.