Conservation Commission adopts Case Estates plan, requires leashed dogs

WESTON — October 27, 2020 — Weston Conservation Commission adopts Case Estates plan and imposes on-leash dog rule. The commission unanimously approved a seven-year ecological management plan for the 62.5-acre Case Estates on Oct. 27 and voted 5-1 to require dogs on a leash of six feet or shorter on the commission-controlled parcels, with member Josh Feinblum opposed. Feinblum argued the commission should consider banning dogs entirely, saying "as soon as we say dogs are allowed, we're never walking that bend." Chair Joe Berman called outright prohibition unrealistic and accepted a six-month review amendment from member Rees Tulloss. Conservation staffer Emily Shadler, who developed the plan with Mass Audubon's Bill Geaton-Tanner, said the property — neglected for roughly two decades after Harvard's Arnold Arboretum phased it out — needs interim management focused on pollinator habitat, invasive control and accessible trails. The commission also approved an Eagle Scout boardwalk on a Concord Road easement and renewed a Land's Sake forestry thinning at Ogilvie Town Forest.