HMCA Activities Update by Diana Todd for sharing at the May 9, 2016 meeting of the HPC

A summary of what HMCA has been doing in the interval since the last HPC meeting in early March.

- 1. MES Day (Marlboro Elementary School day of fun & learning on the mountain) has been scheduled for May 24 with a rain date of June 1. HMCA Director Carol Berner, with input from the HMCA Education Committee, is the primary organizer of the event on the HMCA side.
- 2. The Trail Committee met and planned spring work days to clean up and improve the existing trails. Bob Anderson has purchased the tools approved in this year’s budget (McCleod rake, Fiskars loppers, and Pullerbear for pulling small stumps). They are stored in the Anderson garage along with the HMCA brush cutter.
- 3. Marlboro teacher Tim Hayes asked for permission for his students to use saplings that had been cut on Great White Way as part of the ESH (Early Successional Habitat) project for the school’s annual woodworking/bench building project. Tim & Diana Todd scouted the slope and verified that the material was suitable for use. Tim will use the harvesting trip as a chance to educate the students about 1) always getting permission to harvest/use resources on public land, and 2) the goals of the ESH project.
- 4. The ESH committee led a tour of the Practice Slope, which will be Phase 3 of the project (2017-2018). Diana Todd, Amanda Whiting, Mike Purcell, Bob Anderson, and Nancy Anderson participated. Ed Metcalf joined the group for the first part of the tour and discussion, reviewing the location of the boundary between the two properties and his plans for the lower part of the slope, which he owns. Ed plans to maintain the flatter part of the ski slope, nearest the parking area, in a meadow-like condition, mowed once or twice a year. Where the slope steepens, he will let the young trees continue to grow. The group agreed that this band of young trees will provide a helpful visual screen between the parking lot and the planned ESH cut further up the slope. The group concluded that the ESH cut should be uphill of the Tower Trail, extending to the blackberry patch at the top of the former ski slope.
- 5. Two grant requests for funding the ESH project’s use of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps are still pending. The funding organizations (New England Grassroots Environmental Fund and the Windham Foundation) have not yet made decisions.
- 6. Tom Groves, a Marlboro resident, contacted HMCA via the link on the web site, to indicate that his firm, Long View Forest, is interested in learning more about the Biodiversity Inventory. Tom is a botanist with Long View and has experience performing conservation surveys. He learned of the Biodiversity Inventory plans from the HPC minutes on the town web site. Diana forwarded a copy of his email to the HPC and the HMCA Board.
- 7. Several HMCA Directors had concerns about the HPC vote to have the Castle stabilized. After an email discussion among the HMCA Directors, the subject was raised with Mike Purcell, HPC Chairman, at the Trail Committee meeting. It was agreed that comments from the HMCA would be shared at the next HPC meeting. See three attachments, appended below. The main points raised were:
- a. Lack of an overall plan that considers all the buildings.
- b. Potential for vandalism.
- c. Need for ongoing maintenance.
- d. Lack of a clear use for the structure.

See three attachments, below.