Weston Conservation Commission backs DCR Forest Stewardship grant application for College Pond pilot

WESTON — May 21, 2024 — Weston Conservation Commission moves toward a 10-year DCR stewardship plan as herbicide overspray triggers contractor review. Conservation Administrator Jordan Burke will apply around July 1 for a state Forest Stewardship grant covering 75 to 90 percent of a roughly $3,000 planning cost, with College Pond as the pilot parcel and parallel applications to Foresters for the Birds and the Climate Forestry program. Associate member and Land's Sake co-founder Brian Donahue said the 1989 rotational firewood-thinning regime has reached its limit after touching only 200 to 300 of Weston's 2,000 forested acres. Resident John Sallay, a former Finance Committee member, urged the commission to drop forestry framing entirely: "There is no reason for us to be harvesting firewood or lumber in our town forest." Separately, Burke disclosed that contractor Vegetation Control Service produced 50-foot dead zones of grass at Wellington Farm and the Case Estates Legacy Trail; resident Nina Danforth questioned timing and overspray onto a public path. The commission approved May 7 minutes 3-0-2 and continued an NOI for 79 North Avenue to June 4.