Westford Stewardship

Committee Newsletter

Volume 2, No. 1

Winter, 1999

As I sit here and write this newsletter, the sleet and rain pound on my windowsills, adding a crusty layer of ice to the five inches of snow that fell last night. Looking out the window, the Downy Woodpeckers and Finches at my bird feeders are oblivious to the weather. To some people, it’s horrible outside, a nightmare. To others, such as myself, it’s a winter wonderland (mainly because Route 3 was too icy to drive on and I get to skip work for a day!). Another benefit of this weather is that the snow gives a different appearance and a different dimension to the land around us. Trails that seemed overgrown or lost, suddenly appear again. The dense undergrowth no longer seems dense, and allows you to view more of the land around you. Animal tracks are captured in the snow and ice. Walking through the woods in winter, I am constantly amazed at the amount of wildlife present in Westford. The deer tracks that I’ve followed can’t be more than an hour or two old, yet I never seem to find the culprits. In addition to observing wildlife, winter is an excellent time of year to walk the property that you steward. With the leaves having fallen off the trees, trail maintenance is much simpler (be sure to bring your hand pruners!); in addition, it is much easier to view property boundaries and such. If you get a moment this winter, be sure to visit the property that you steward and fill out a steward report or drop us an email describing your property in it’s winter state as well as any wildlife you’ve encountered during this cold season.

A couple of administrative notes: If you haven’t yet been contacted about stewarding a particular property, please contact Christie Williams (692-0107). Likewise, if you find that you no longer have time to be a land steward, please let one of us know.

The Fall Land Steward meeting was held last October at the Westford Museum. The meeting featured an excellent presentation by Bill Harman on how to create a map for your property. In addition, Westford’s Land Use Coordinator, Jeff Chelgren, presented Westford’s Regional Recreation Plan which includes a three-phased approach to creating a spine for a trail network, with the spine connecting the northern sections of Westford (Rt 40) to the southern sections (Rt 110 area).

Each year the Westford Newcomers and Friends organization holds a set of fund-raising activities in order to benefit various programs and projects within Westford. This year, as part of their "Reaching Out to Westford" program, they have designated a portion of their funds to helping us install trail signs on Westford’s conservation property! This is an exciting opportunity for us in 1999! If you feel the property you steward could use a sign and/or a trail map kiosk, please contact us as soon as possible. We are in the process of completing our sign/kiosk inventory in anticipation of getting this project underway this spring!

By Mike Killoran
On Sunday, October 18th, there was a clearing of the Tom Paul trail. This trail is approximately three miles long and takes a walker from Westford's Town Hall to the Stone Arch Bridge in Graniteville. Starting directly across from the Town Hall, the walker almost immediately gets the feeling of being deep in the woods. The trail crosses Graniteville Road between Ledgewood Drive and Bixby Lane. The trail follows a number of old colonial roads. It then emerges at the end of Evergreen Circle and continues on through the town forest. Following the old train track right-of-way, it continues on to the massive Stone Arch Bridge that spans Stony Brook.

The trail is marked with yellow blazes, two blazes together indicate a turn in the trail. There are also green signs posted at all road crossings. A more detailed description of the trail, with photographs, may be found at the web page of the Westford Conservation Trust. Its URL is "http://www.ultranet.com/~killoran/wct.html".

The trail clearing took approximately two hours. Much brush was cut back and fallen limbs removed from the trail. We would like to thank Diane Duane, steward of the trail, for taking the lead. Also helping were Keith Gordon, Mark Tinknell, John Piekos, Bill Harman, Christie Williams, and Mike Killoran.

By Linda Holstien Stronge, Westford League of Women Voters
Recently, League members and their families joined the Land Stewardship Group to clear the Kissacook Trail. The League has agreed to be stewards for the Kissacook Trail which is located behind the Day School. League members will help to maintain and clear the trail and have donated money to sponsor a trailhead sign. They will hold an open house in the spring of `99 to install the sign and invite League members, as well as others, to hike the trail.

Trail Marking Techniques

One of the more commonly asked Land Steward questions is how to properly mark trails. This year we've marked several trails. We've been using the following method:

For excellent examples of trail blazing, visit the Kissacook Hill trail, the Slifer trail, or the Acker Land trail.

Featured Property: The Acker Land
By Tom Ennis, Land Steward
The first parcel of land donated to the Conservation Trust was the Acker property, a.k.a.WCT1 on the trial map. This 15+ acre parcel is sandwiched between the B&M railroad bed and Stony Brook. The trailhead is 180 yards in from Depot Road at the railroad crossing. A concrete railroad post with the vertically inscribed number "307" is 50 feet before the trailhead, which is marked with a hiker medallion on an oak tree.

The Acker trail meanders along Stony Brook for approximately six-tenths of a mile. The trail is marked with vertical yellow lines on the occasional tree, but the trail is well worn and the way fairly defined. Because of a number of ice storm tree falls, the trail has been impassable in a number of spots up until the fall of '98. Combined with its relatively obscure entry point, this trail has not had a great deal of use recently. But anyone who ventures down Acker trail now will not be disappointed with their decision.

There are great viewing spots of Stony Brook along the way, and of the geese, blue herons, ducks, and beavers that inhabit this virtually untouched waterway. There is a small beaver dam a short distance from the trailhead, which merely slows the water flow and creates a small pond-like basin behind it. A hiker can be startled by the sudden, loud warning splashes the beavers make when they sense danger. Near the midpoint, the trail passes through a cathedral of white pines, where sunlight never reaches the ground so there is no undergrowth. It is a peaceful, shady spot that is in stark contrast with the rest of the woodland.

About four-fifths of the way up the trail there is a remarkable reminder of the inexhaustible energy of the beaver. Several huge poplar trees have been felled in one stand. Some have been caught up in nearby trees and are suspended diagonally, miscalculations on the part of the engineers of the animal world. The bark of the poplar is a favorite meal of the beaver, evidenced by a number of the fallen trees scrapped clean of their bark.

Through the very generous permission of the Dean family, the Westford Conservation Trust has been given egress across the half acre Dean parcel that abuts the Acker land. This allows for access to some terrific scenery. A large beaver lodge has been built along the shore of the brook in the middle of this parcel. This provides a wonderful opportunity for close inspection of the complex construction techniques the beavers use to meld sticks and mud together to create an impenetrable fortress. A short distance away is yet another dam with a cascading waterfall. The soothing sounds of the falling water combined with the scenic surroundings make this spot a tranquil oasis far from the madding crowd.

Over the next few months there are a number of improvements planned for the Acker trail, including signage, benches strategically placed along the way, and bridges over a couple of feeder streams. In addition, the trail will be extended on the other side of the Dean parcel into the DeSilva land, (WCT12).

The Acker trail is clearly a bright jewel in the crown of Westford's preserved woodland and open spaces. It provides an opportunity to experience nature and its woodland wildlife unencumbered by man without having to leave town.

On January 28^th , the Massachusetts Audubon presented their land management master plans for their Audubon property consisting of the Vine Brook parcel (43 acres off Concord Road), and the Nonset Brook parcel (150 acres, off Texas Road and adjacent to Kennedy Pond).

The Audubon’s land management approach focuses on three priorities:

1. Enhancing the habitat
2. Evaluating the existing trail system
3. Evaluating the potential for public visitation, particularly automobile access

Based on these priorities, the Audubon’s initial plans include a parking area for 10-15 cars at the Vine Brook parcel on Rt. 225. This parking area will provide a public access to the property and will allow for such things as school bus parking for educational field trips. In addition, the existing trail system on both the Vine Brook and Nonset parcels would be modified somewhat, with new trails being created to allow viewing of both a pond and a bog on the Vine Brook parcel, and some existing trails being "closed" because of erosion problems or the fact that the trail isn’t meaningful in the overall trail network (in other words, the trail doesn’t go anywhere). The plans they presented are still going through the Audubon approval process, and probably won’t start being implemented until 6-9 months from now.

The meeting was well attended and included town officials, trust directors and members, as well as the Kennedy Pond land stewards and other land stewards.

This Spring there will be three Roudenbush walks on Westford Conservation property:

A Kissacook Hill Hike on 4/24, a Nashoba Brook bird walk on 5/16, and a Wildflower walk on the Slifer Land on 5/23. See the Roudenbush Winter 1999 catalog for additional details.

We plan on hold another Land Steward meeting this spring. Look for a postcard announcing the meeting in your mailbox. We will also notify stewards by email. If you have an email address and haven’t yet told us it, please let us know.

If you haven’t submitted a Land Steward Report Card, please do so. Also, if email is more convenient for you, that’s even better – send your report to killoran@LL.mit.edu.

Here are some interesting tidbits from the latest batch of reports:

The Westford Land Stewardship Steering Committee is made up of members from the Westford Conservation Commission and the non-profit Westford Conservation Trust. Please free to contact anyone one of us with your Land Stewardship questions.

Christie Williams (Westford Conservation Commission)

692-0107 or 692-2596 - cwilliam@tiac.net

Mike Killoran (Westford Conservation Commission/Westford Conservation Trust)

692-7925 - killoran@LL.mit.edu

John Piekos (Westford Conservation Trust)

692-8922 - jpiekos@novera.com

Westford Conservation Trust: http://www.ultranet.com/~killoran/wct.html

Westford Conservation Commission: http://www.ultranet.com/~killoran/cc.html

MeadowBrook Farms: http://www.ultranet.com/~killoran/picking/html/start.shtml