Christie Williams, John Piekos, and Mike Killoran recently handed their executive pruning sheers (and piles of paper) over to the new steering committee. We are

Thanks to Mike, Christie, and John for all the work they did in the past 3+ years. They have left us with a good framework and lots of good ideas for where to go with the Land Steward Committee in the coming months.

We are using this newsletter as a tool for getting everyone reconnected. So, let’s review some good news for the trail system in town. Then let’s remember why you are important.

The town has/will benefit from three Eagle Scout projects in the past year. Last June, Ryan Dromgoole installed a boardwalk over Nonset Brook in the Emmet Conservation Land. This was one of two sections of the trail flooded by beaver activity. This year, Tony Capriccio will install a bog walk and reroute the trail around the other dam site. Steve Sears will build and install wood duck nesting boxes along Stony Brook near Stony Brook Rd. Good luck, congratulations, and thanks to these young men.

A committee has been appointed to develop design recommendations for a town-wide trail system. Phases I and II will extend from Beacon St. west to West St., south to Westford Academy, and continue along Concord Rd. to Kennedy Pond and the Jack Walsh fields. Alan Loiselle chairs the committee. Peter Mahler is vice chair.

We hope you are still interested in being a Land Steward. Volunteers like you play a crucial role in monitoring and maintaining the 3000+ acres of protected open space in Westford. One critical element is the Steward Report. Yes – they actually get read, and people pay attention to your comments. Here are some examples:

• A steward wrote that someone was dumping grass clippings near wetlands at the end of Texas Rd. The town’s Conservation Coordinator was told, he wrote a letter to the neighborhood, and the dumping stopped.
• Another steward noted that trailhead signs and a new dam would be nice for Cider Mill Pond. Signs were installed, and the Conserva-tion Commission recently approved rebuilding the dam.
• In 1998, Cub Scout Pack 95 removed 300 tires from the town land behind Drew’s Farm! Do you still need help with the rest?

Please take the time to fill out (and return) the enclosed report form to Peter Ewing, 21 Old Homestead Rd, Westford, even if you have nothing exciting to report. This will (1) tell us that you are still interested, (2) help us to update the steward database, and (3) tell us the condition of ‘your’ parcel. If you do not ‘have’ a piece of conservation land and want one, use the form to tell us! Do you have any suggestions for steward activities? Share your ideas with us. We hope to hold a meeting this fall. See you there.