SOUTHWICK — The Conservation Commission was presented a draft of a land management plan for the North Pond Conservation Area during its Aug. 19 meeting, including steps to get it into compliance with the conservation restriction placed on the property by the state.
The plan, drafted by Commission Coordinator Sabrina Pooler, will be used not only as a guide to meets the state’s conservation restriction but also for a task force established by the Select Board to develop solutions to reopen the property after being closed in July because of its continued misuse by visitors.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
According to Pooler’s draft plan, the conservation area has not been in compliance with the restriction on the property for the last two years.
Specific to the restriction, the town has not complied with four provisions of the document filed when it purchased the property in 2019 for $4 million, with financial assistance of the Franklin Land Trust and $1.5 million from the town’s Community Preservation Act funds.
“It is my belief that [violations of the four provisions] are the reasons … we are not in compliance right now,” Pooler said when asked about the violations of the four provisions of the restriction.
The first provision prohibits “activities detrimental to the drainage, flood control, water conservation, erosion control, soil conservation, or fish or wildlife.”
That relates to the erosion caused by overuse of the steep hill directly behind the former King’s Beach portion of the property, where visitors typically went for easy access to the North Pond of Congamond Lake.
Pooler has said previously that the slope down to the beach area is completely bare of vegetation, which means that during heavy rains, the soil is washed into the pond. She also said there are other areas with erosion issues on the several unapproved trails on the property.
There are three state-approved trails in the area: the scenic, main and vernal pool trails. There are six “unapproved” trails that have created by visitors, two that run west of the beach area connected to the scenic trail, two that track south off the main trail, and two that allow access to the property from Babb Road and spur into the vernal pool trail.
To address erosion, Pooler’s proposal is to place tree debris on the slope above the beach to prevent foot traffic, close the scenic trail, which has been approved by the commission, monitor plant growth, plant native species of shrubbery and trees, and temporarily block off areas where vegetation needs to regrow.
The second provision prohibits the use of “automobiles, trucks, mountain bikes, motorcycles, motorized trail bikes, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles or any other motorized vehicle.”
The use of ATVs in the conservation area has been an ongoing issue since the property was opened to the public. Though ATV use is prohibited in the conservation area, it’s not against the law on other town properties. Pooler has proposed creating a new bylaw that would prohibit ATV use on all town-owned property, which, she said, would give police the legal authority to issue citations and fines for those who don’t follow the law.
The third provision prohibits the “removal or destruction of trees, shrubs and any other vegetation.”
When Pooler walked the property with two officials with the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife in early July, they saw a native blueberry plant that had been ripped up, a hemlock tree that had been cut down, and evidence of axe, handsaw or machete damage on a white pine tree.
Related to the removal or destruction of vegetation on the property was an incident that occurred in 2021 when someone entered the property with a skid steer and cleared the beach area of vegetation and cut one of the unapproved trails on the property down to the beach, which wiped out the beneficial vegetative debris used by fish and wildlife.
Her recommendation was to survey the property’s vegetation, monitor it regularly, plant new when and if needed, install signs at various locations clearly detailing what is and isn’t allowed and blocking off the unapproved trails with tree branches and shrubbery.
The fourth provision the property violated was the installation of any temporary or permanent structures.
The violation was the rope swings and boards that had been nailed to trees in the beach area, which visitors use as platforms to jump into the pond. The three trees where this activity was happening were taken down by the town in early August. During the Aug. 19 meeting, Commissioner Chris Pratt said he walked along the shore after the trees were removed.
“There are no new rope swings, yet,” he said.
While using the property to access North Pond for swimming is not specifically prohibited in the conservation restriction, Pooler has proposed having signs installed along the shore with the message that the “waters are not tested” for public health, as a way to discourage that activity.
Open fires on the property have also been an ongoing problem. Pooler proposed walking through the property on a biweekly basis to break apart prohibited fire rings placed by visitors.
While not specific to following the conservation restriction, Pooler offered several other ways to reduce the misuse of the area. Those include placing snow fencing on the slope above the beach with “no trespassing” signs, creating a new trail map showing the scenic trail is closed, and placing the maps on the kiosk in the parking lot.
The commission has already approved limiting the parking lot of the property to eight vehicles. Pooler suggested having the spaces numbered by installing individual signs for individual parking spaces.
Commissioner Norm Cheever said he hoped the steps being taken at the property would be a “deterrent” to those who misuse the property. The commission will discuss the recommendations with Pooler during its next meeting in early September.
