Conservation Commission Minutes - 2024-09-25

Durham Conservation Commission

September 25, 2024 6:30-8 pm

Attendees: Sam Cuccaro, Jess Costa, Roberta Brezinski, Michael Friendly, Jeff Tindall

• August Meetings Notes approved

• Update on CRP Grant

o Grant amount has increased to $75K (max)

o Potential projects might include a potential watershed plan, mitigation plans, potentially more community engagement meetings which could lead to more targeted stakeholder outreach

o Could the approach be a carrot and stick? The carrot is siting for solar and the stick would be TBD and would still adhere to the list of appropriate/approved projects

o Do we want FB Environmental to beef up our proposal based on changes to the potential increased $ awarded ?

o With increased funding potential, we could potentially apply it to a more boots-on-the-ground approach/surveying

▪ In the current proposal, there is 1 day of site visits allotted

▪ Potential to identify vulnerable, critical habitats

o FB Environmental would attend a popular in-town event and bring maps for demonstration purposes, dot stickers to answer questions posed by FB to Town Members

o They would also contact local business, organizations, and underserved populations to gather community feedback

o Could we create a workflow for identifying and prioritizing parcels in town and strategies for funding the purchase of these parcels

o Grant Application Deadline December 17th

▪ Jess and Roberta to attend the SB meeting and keep them up to date on our continued pursuit of this grant, inform them that we are re- applying

▪ Jess to reach out to GPCOG (Kelly & Sarah) for their advice regarding what to add to our proposal based on the increased funding potential

• Miscellaneous

o Are there any groups doing water testing at Runaround Pond? If so, how frequently? Ahd where is that data?

▪ Could water testing/water quality projects be a part of the CRP grant?

• Findings from Bat Detectors at Runaround Pond

o Jess to compile and share data collected at bat detectors with the State’s bat biologist

o One of the questions that arose with this data is, how often are the BwH maps updated by the state? And therefore, what is the protocol for sharing these updates with the Town?

• Solar Mapping

o Suitable/prime soils

o George recommends using the distinction of Prime Ag Soils as a criteria in our proposed plan

• Upcoming:

o RP Meeting- November 13th 6:30 pm, location TBD

o SB Review of RP Changes- October 29th