The Department of Conservation and Recreation has scheduled a public hearing date to air a final remediation plan for unpermitted trail clearing.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation has scheduled a public hearing date to air a final remediation plan for unpermitted trail clearing that occurred in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.
According to a notice from DCR — the state agency responsible for forest management — the hearing, which comes almost exactly a year after a citation was issued for the trail work, is scheduled for March 4, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“At this public information meeting, the DCR team for this project will present a final plan for ecological restoration work to be conducted inside Manuel Correllus State Forest, which will impact unofficial mountain biking trails,” the notice stated.
The DCR notice said public comment would be heard after the agency made a formal presentation on the “finalized” ecological restoration plan.
Registration for the hearing is available through a Zoom link.
The unpermitted trail clearing began in 2018. Early last summer, the state sent a letter of noncompliance to a Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation board member involved in land clearing and other trail construction activities that were done without a required permit from the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
At the time, Sheriff’s Meadow — an Island nonprofit dedicated to land conservation — had been working with DCR and former superintendent Chris Bruno to help with state forest maintenance.
Sheriff’s Meadow later confirmed and apologized for the unpermitted clearing, which involved approximately 25 miles of trails and bike paths, saying that it was working with the state on a remediation plan.
On Monday, Sheriff’s Meadow executive director Adam Moore said he had no further information on the plan proposed by DCR.
“This is DCR’s plan of what it’s proposing to do,” Mr. Moore said. “We did not submit a proposal to them, except for monitoring for invasive plants as a means of remediation.”
The final plan proposed by DCR will be subject to review and approval by the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. Violations of the state endangered species laws are subject to criminal and civil penalties.
Further details about the DCR plan remain unclear. A spokesman for DCR said in an email that the plan that will be presented next Thursday.
Comments
I hope DCR takes a thoughtful
Stevep EdgartownI hope DCR takes a thoughtful approach to the stewardship of that land so as to balance the recreational and ecological priorities there. There are some terrific trails (old and new) in MFC forest that do play an important role in facilitating islanders' appreciation of this forest, and I hope the selection which trails to close and which trails to keep considers all of this.
Why do they need to remediate
curiousWhy do they need to remediate the air? I'm confused.
Looks like another waste of
Bob EdgartownLooks like another waste of taxpayer money. Just let the trails be and have nature take over. I would think any new bike lanes would of helped with fire breaks. I think the main issue is people were having fun in the dead forest so we have to stop it. Why not spend the money on clearing out dead pine trees.
Twenty five miles of
Geraldine Brooks West TisburyTwenty five miles of destroyed trees, plants, habitat. On the whim of...an unnamed individual. On our public land. If someone came on my property and started felling trees without permission I’d be outraged. Just as I’m outraged that this happened on land that was set aside to be left alone-- for species, for hunters, for all of us. It must all be restored. Then, if they want a permit for a bike trail, go through the proper public process, make an argument, and get a permit, if the rest of us agree with you after we’ve all had our say.
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