Summer, 2000 

Spring is finally here and we’ve got a lot of steward projects in the works for year 2000! If you’ve got a steward project idea, and need help organizing it, please be sure to let us know. One easy way to do this is to put your request for help on the attached Land Steward Reporting Form (LSRF). We ask that each steward fill out these reports two times each year. If you could take a moment and fill out and mail the attached LSRF, we would really appreciate it. As a side note, it has been a very hectic winter for the land steward steering committee. If you have not heard from us with regards to a property assignation, we apologize. If you fall into this group, please give Christie Williams (692-2596) a call.

A wonderful gift has been given to the people and wildlife of Westford. Mrs. Priscilla Elliott has donated 8 acres of beautiful woodland on Hildreth St. to the Westford Conservation Trust. This land is to remain forever a wildlife sanctuary, and is to be named the Prospect Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. John Hanson Mitchell started his walk to Concord here, which he documented in his book Walking to Walden. The land abuts 30 acres of Water Department land, so helps to protect a sizable parcel of open space in the center of Westford.

The Prospect Hill Wildlife Sanctuary features beautiful, mature hemlock trees, a small stream and old bridge, many wildflowers and an enormous Shagbark Hickory. Many species of birds make their homes here. An old farm road winds up the hill. This trail is very overgrown now. We would like to clear the trail and perhaps install a sign on June 3^rd at 9:00 a.m. Please join us! If you can come: park on Wright Lane (off Hildreth St.) and enter the land at the green gate directly across Hildreth St. Bring clippers or a saw, and gloves. Wear long pants.

On Saturday, October 9, a group of Westford land stewards undertook a trail development project at Westford Manors Estates, a new subdivision on Hutchins Road off Robinson Road. This is an open space residential subdivision that is surrounded by 29 acres of beautiful woodland. The woodland is protected by a conservation restriction, which his administered jointly by the Westford Conservation Commission and the Westford Conservation Trust. The Trust has the responsibility for administering the trail easement.

Many thanks to the land stewards who participated in the trail clearing: Tom Ennis, John Forsyth, Bill Harman, Marian Harman, John Piekos and Mark Tincknell. The trail has one entrance on the cul-de-sac at the end of Hutchins Road and branches off from there in two directions. One branch of the trail leads to Kelley Road and the other curves around clockwise behind the houses and comes out onto Hutchins Road close to its intersection with Robinson Road. Trail entrances are marked by small yellow metal disks sporting a hiker logo, affixed to trees.

The land features many big oak trees, beautiful stonewalls, and a large State-registered vernal pool that is the breeding site for endangered Blue-spotted Salamanders. The trail should be particularly beautiful in May when spring wildflowers will be blooming!

One of my favorite trails of late is not a trail at all, but a stream. Stony Brook is a fantastic natural resource that I think many people in town overlook. There are a number of ways to enjoy Stony Brook, beyond driving over it daily on your commute to work. The shore of the brook is accessible by foot from many points. On the Acker Land, there is a nice trail and even several park benches along the shores of the brook. The brook’s banks can also be walked along on the trails of East Boston Camps. The backside of the Farmer Parcel consisting of the Red Line Trail provides additional access by foot to part the more remote portion of this brook and also provides breeding ground for spotted turtles. But, in my opinion, the best way to experience the brook is by canoe or kayak. There are several boat access points, some official, most unofficial. The primary access points for a leisurely float are the canoe launch on River Street and the East Boston Camps entrance on Depot Street. If you don’t have two cars to shuttle the boat with, your best bet is to put in at the camps entrance and paddle up stream. This stretch of stream is idyllic and generally slow moving and fraught with beaver activity. Last fall I kayaked this portion and crossed six (yes 6!) beaver dams. For the more adventurous paddler, put in your canoe on the Acker Land side just below the falls and paddle down stream. This portion of the stream has an unbelievable amount of diverse wildlife. This spring in the span of less than two hours, I saw the following: a muskrat, pileated woodpecker, a hawk, many mallard ducks, wood ducks, a great blue heron, a kingfisher, red-winged black birds, Canadian geese and plenty of beaver activity, including a large beaver dam at the edge of the Acker property. There are several unofficial takeout points going downstream. There is a pullout potential at Stoney Brook Road, Moore Road, School Street in Chelmsford, Bainbridge’s, and ultimately the Merrimack River. Yes, it is possible to make it all the way to the river! Just be sure to paddle the downstream portion of Stony Book when there is plenty of water, otherwise you might find yourself portaging over lots of fallen trees. Happy paddling!

The Merrimack River Watershed Association is establishing a "Stream Team" in Westford, which will survey Stony Brook on Saturday, April 29^th. An information session will be held on Thursday, April 20^th, 7-9 p.m. at the Cameron Senior Center, and a training session will be held on Thursday, April 20^th, 7-9 p.m. at the Cameron Senior Center. The shoreline survey itself will take place on Saturday morning, April 29^th. If you can make the survey, but not either of the training sessions, they will train you on the morning of the 29^th. We are in great need of team members. For more information call Marian Harman at 692-3907.

Westford is joining many other towns in Massachusetts in running "Biodiversity Days" trail walks on Friday-Sunday, June 9-11^th. During these walks, we will attempt to identify and catalog as many species of plants and animals as we can. At this time we are looking for amateur naturalists who would be willing to lead walks. If you have any interest in helping to lead a walk, please call Marian Harman at 692-3907. Walk times and dates will be published in the paper at a later time.

Eagle Scout Ryan Dromgoole was finally able to officially present his project to the Conservation Commission on 2/23/00. They gave preliminary approval. Bill Turner will write up the order of conditions and the CC will sign it on 3/8/00.

The single boardwalk will cost around $2000. It will go next to the beaver dam closest to Texas Rd. Bill Turner's requirement was that it also supports horses because he wants to keep them from walking in the wetlands (muck). Building the boardwalk on the existing causeway would involve bends in the boardwalk at both ends, so the walk will go across the water. It will be 5 feet wide, made of pressure-treated lumber (unless he gets enough funding to use fake wood), and 80 ft long, built in 8-ft sections. The sections will rest on 22 concrete supports.

Ryan currently plans to build the sections in his yard, and then transport them to Texas Road. He will enlist other sturdy boy scouts to help him lug them to the site. He's still looking for additional funding. If you would like to help out with the project (funding or work), Ryan lives at 12 Moore Rd, 692-3436.

Dick Emmet wrote a letter to the Conservation Commission about the condition of the town conservation land. He made three good suggestions:

1. Fix the flooded sections
2. Fill the bad sections around the pond with gravel
3. Stock the pond with fish.

These trails are highly used/abused and are showing their age.

There are several upcoming land steward projects for year 2000. Here are a few:

The Town is forming a committee to help design the town-wide trail network that Jeff Chelgren presented to the stewards meeting in the fall of 1998. Here is the official request (printed in theWestford Eagle):

If you’ve got an email address and would like to get notified of land steward happenings via email, please send your address to . Note that this is a very low-volume distribution list.

Featured Property: The Sullivan Land
By Bob Shaffer

The

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

Christie Williams (Westford Conservation Commission)

692-0107 or 692-2596 - Christie_Williams@iris.com

Mike Killoran (Westford Conservation Commission/Westford Conservation Trust)

692-7925 – mike_killoran@iris.com

John Piekos (Westford Conservation Trust)

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

Westford Conservation Land: http://www.johnpiekos.com/conservation

Old Steward Newsletters: http://www.johnpiekos.com/steward