Back to Weir River Estuary Park Committee Meeting Minutes
WREP Meeting Minutes – 2/3/2010
Location - Estuary Center, Hull
Attendees – Dick Avery, Judeth Van Hamm, Amy May, Scott Plympton, Jim Rogers, Faith Burbank, Courtney Mullen, and Charles Higginson
• Minutes from the November and December WREP meetings were approved with corrections from Faith Burbank.
• Approved Agenda plus a discussion of vernal pools and access to Straits Pond Island
• Hingham Town Report, Faith Burbank will prepare a piece on WREP activities for the Hingham annual report, but would appreciate help. Just describe some of the Hingham projects like the Eagle Scout work and West Corner access. Dick Avery offered to help.
• Hull Open Space Plan, Hull officials do not seem interested even though it is essential to obtain land grants. Scott Plympton and Judeth Van Hamm are working on it. Judeth brought us up to date on the Trustees of Reservations working with the Hull Land Conservation Trust for a grant to obtain land for the Chatham Street entrance to the Weir River Woods. Needs an appraisal by March 1 to value property. Development value of $170,000 needed to get $85,000. Need $75,000 of which HLCT has $20,000. Should approach other Foundations. Other fundraising ideas were eBay sales, art auction March 20 at the Red Parrot, and a reception for TTOR Hull members offered by Karen Delano. Chatham Street project is going ahead without a Hull Open Space Plan, but the Lofchie project, which should be the next major acquisition, needs it. The Lofchie project and access to the Straits Pond Island is being pursued by the Straits Pond Watershed Association.
• Forum - There then followed a long discussion of a proposed forum on the Weir River Estuary Park.
• Timing – the desire was to have it soon, but also there was need for time to prepare. An evening meeting from 6-9 on Wednesday, April 28 at the Hull Estuary Center seemed like a good place and date. A light buffet would be served.
• Attendance – The idea would be to bring together people working on conservation issues who might have a relevance to the Estuary, including the National Park Service and QUEST. This has to be tempered by the capacity of the Estuary Center. Judith Van Hamm will prepare a first draft of a guest list. Dick Avery will draft an invitation to be sent to the potential guest list.
• Goals – To define the Weir River Estuary. Is it a park? How should we ‘brand’ or mark it? If so, is its primary purpose conservation and the preservation of habitat for fish, birds, and animals or is it to optimize human use of the area? Are these mutually inconsistent? There needs to be a balance where these two goals conflict. Who is to manage and thus decide which goal is the primary use of the Estuary? More specifically is the primary goal education, habitat protection, recreation, and/or land acquisition? The invitation will have a large influence on these questions.
• Next meeting - Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at the Hull Estuary Center