Treasurer's Report: Payment has been received for Gove timber sales May 11 ^th : $820.27; $150 May 18 ^th . Year to date timber sales: $970.27. Other amounts remain basically unchanged from the April Treasurer’s report. Sue Paton reminded us that unspent monies from the 2009 operating budget should go into our Conservation Fund, not into the town’s general fund. That is state policy, but has not routinely been followed.

Communications: The state Department of Revenue Administration has disallowed $48,516 of the funds appropriated at town meeting, because they exceeded the 10% cap beyond the budget approved by the town’s Budget Committee. That leaves $63,335 which can be raised from taxes for the Desbiens purchase; the remaining $48,516 will need to come from other sources.

Helen Frink received a response from the state Department of Transportation about posting $250 fine for littering signs along Route 123A. The DOT finds these signs ineffective and suggests instead that we look into the "adopt a highway" program to collect litter from this route.

Intents to Cut: David Bascom, 4 acres of an 88-acre lot on Ryan Road.
Andrew Clifford of Northwoodlands, for the clean-up in the Gove lot after the blow-down; this operation is already complete.

Intent to Excavate received from Chip Duggan for the gravel pit on Route 123A in East Acworth.

Water Quality: June 14 ^th will be the first water quality test at Crescent Lake. Sue Paton attended a Department of Environmental Services workshop on water testing and milfoil control. In late June or early July water testing on the Cold River will begin; three tests are conducted annually.

Debby Hinman reported that a Planning Board working session included information on aquifer overlay zones, and noted that Acworth has an aquifer underneath the dump and Balla’s sawmill. Ideally, a zoning ordinance should include limitations on future development in prime aquifer zones. She suggested that it would be useful to revise our agenda to include a space for reports from Commission members who also serve on other town boards.

Rob De Valk noted there are still two unidentified waste barrels near the Archambault property on Crescent Lake Road. Sue Paton verified that a silt barrier is now in place at the Allen construction site on the Lake.

Forestry: The Northwoodlands logging company has finished the clean-up in the Gove lot. Revenue last year totaled $5060, plus the $920 received in May. We agreed that the poor market for timber makes it inadvisable to pursue further cuts at this time. Rob De Valk will contact Peter Rhoades to invite him to our July meeting. He also noted that Japanese knotweed is growing around the old Gove foundation.

Conservation Easement Monitoring: Debby Hinman has scheduled an easement monitoring walk through the Raymond Roy property for Sunday June 27 ^th : meet at 8:30 at the town hall. The next monitoring walk will be scheduled for July 11 ^th , destination to be determined.

Sandy Brewer reported that the road through the Fred Ernst easement property on Black North Road is now gated and locked. Fred Ernst upgraded this road (which leads to the old Walker Road) for his logging operation, but it is uncertain whether the road should be gated and locked.

Helen Frink noted that the gravel pit in the East Acworth wetlands is once again littered with shooting debris. We discussed asking the Forest Society (which holds the easement) what can/should be done, and discussed whether it would be possible or advisable to close the Keyes Hollow Road to vehicular traffic.

Land Protection: Desbiens Project. Helen Frink and Sue Paton will attend a June 16 ^th workshop on applying for the new LCHIP grant round, which opens July 1, with a deadline of August 20 ^th . We noted regretfully that some LCHIP funds have been taken to plug the state’s budget deficit.

Sue Paton has contracted with Teresa Spada of Lempster to appraise the Desbiens property, at a cost of $1,200-$1,500. If we receive LCHIP funding, another $600 will be charged for the required summary report.

The SPNHF’s Forest Notes mentions Acworth’s town meeting vote to fund the Desbiens purchase. In fact, Acworth constitutes 25% of all funding approved by town meetings in March. The Monadnock Conservancy received funding to protect the former Heman and Edith Chase property abutting Warren Brook, which feeds the Cold River. That may buttress our argument for watershed protection.

We voted unanimously that Sue Paton officially thank Kathi Bradt for supplying the documents necessary to support the Mooseplate Grant.

John Tuthill relayed Selectman Tom Esslinger’s concern that the Desbiens project be completed before the March 2011 town meeting. We all concurred that it would indeed be most desirable to complete the project as expeditiously as possible.

New Business: John Tuthill reported that the town’s lawyer is working actively to resolve with the Carpenters the issue of ownership of land abutting the South Acworth town forest.

The Board of Selectmen is reviewing the town-owned lands, and will consult the Conservation Commission about any proposed sales.

Education and Outreach: Sandy Brewer brought information from the Department of Environmental Services about combating Japanese knotweed. Every Friday exams are given in Concord to qualify people to apply herbicides to the weed. We discussed how to educate landowners on methods for combating knotweed.

The meeting adjourned at 9 PM.