Mama turkey got lucky! This nest of turkey eggs was found in the long grass of the meadow at Case Estates between two tire tread paths. The nest area has been marked to alert other vehicles.

Case Estates Phase I Clean-up Complete!

The Conservation Commission recently completed the final Phase I property maintenance, which involved removing numerous dead/dying trees and other vegetation growing along rock walls. The Commission intends to intensively mow the area for the next couple of years until the invasives are in check. The Town is still working on trail design (creating an ADA accessible path, planning for a walkway/sidewalk that will link Weston Reservoir to the Case Estates, and mowing a network of field trails). Look for these improvements occurring within a year.

Case Estates field restoration

Weston's Open Space & Recreation Plan Approved by State

Weston’s Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee completed the 2017 Weston Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) in June. The OSRP serves as a tool to help Weston to maintain and improve its green infrastructure, such as conservation land, trails, working farms and forests, wildlife habitat, streams and ponds, parks, playing fields and courts, and swimming facilities. Planning for this green infrastructure is as important to the economic future of a community as is planning for schools, roads, and wastewater infrastructure.

The OSRP received approval from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which means that Weston is now eligible for state grants to help fund open space and recreation projects and programs. Highlights of Weston’s plan include:

an inventory of Weston’s open spaces and recreation facilities
a 7-year action plan based on 5 overarching goals
descriptions of key open space and recreational resources
background on the community’s natural resources and conservation history
an evaluation of how Weston’s open spaces and recreation facilities serve people with disabilities

The Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee worked for two years with the public, Town staff, and various related committees to gather input as they prepared the updated plan. Hard copies are available for viewing in the Land Use Department and Town Manager’s Office (Town Hall), Recreation Department (Community Center), and Weston Public Library. It is also available online at www.weston.org/OSRP

Eversource and DCR received Wetlands Permits to construct Paved Maintenance Road and Rail Trail

Earlier this month, the Conservation Commission issued the wetlands permit authorizing Eversource and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to construct a paved maintenance road/rail trail along the 3-mile right-of-way in Weston.

Known as the Mass Central Rail Trail, this new recreational asset will some day stretch 23 miles from Berlin to Waltham. Construction of the rail trail may commence as soon as late summer!

Trail Maintenance – a necessary budget line item!

Several dog walkers were taken by surprise when a HUGE tree split and partly fell near the trailhead at Cat Rock last week. The Town responded immediately by temporarily closing off the trail until the Town’s Tree Contractor, Stumpy’ s Inc. could come in and remove the unsafe trees in the area. A total of two large dead/dying trees had to be removed for safety reasons.

illustration by Rose Wong

Did you know…

“America’s turf grass lawns — including those of corporate campuses and business parks — total 40 million acres, or 62,000 square miles, the size of Georgia. To care for all this lawn, Americans spend $40 billion annually, more than we spend in direct foreign aid.

"What if, instead of seeing lawns primarily as decorative, the more uniform and manicured the better, we saw them as living ground? ...lawns made of pollinator-friendly grasses peppered with clovers, violets, chamomile and other flowering lawn plants; imagine short green turf replaced in places by a diverse wealth of native plants bringing new colors, scents and blooms. In a world of diminishing biodiversity and rapid climate change, the ground beneath our lawns is capable of so much more than just grass."

- "Beyond Blades of Grass," By Paul Bogardjune (New York Times - June 16, 2017). Read the full article.

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