Greylock Glen Eyed for Wetlands Sites
 David Cameron of AECOM explains how wetlands would be added to an irrigation pond at the Greylock Glen. |
The town is being asked to sign off on a proposal to create up to 2 acres of wetlands at the foot of Mount Greylock to compensate for the loss of wetlands habitat when the steep slope at the spillway at Lake Ashmere was redesigned two years ago.
The request is coming from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Office of Dam Safety and the state Department of Environmental Protection, which turned to the mountain after failing to find suitable sites for wetlands in South County.
The Greylock Glen Advisory Committee, however, is leery of anything that could jeopardize the long-delayed development of the glen.
"Last time, we didn't get anything in writing," said committee member George Haddad, referring to the last failed project at the glen, at the group's meeting on Thursday afternoon. "I do appreciate everyone telling us how this would work ... Unfortunately, nowadays, if it's not in writing it doesn't work."
Some 50 acres of the Mount Greylock State Reservation have been set aside for development of trails, a campground, amphitheatre, educational center and conference center.
The group said it was willing to hear more about the proposal after a presentation by David Cameron, a senior ecologist with AECOM, and discussions with the glen's trail and campground designers.
Engineers will meet with the town's Office of Community Development and town administrator and Cathy Garnett, glen project manager for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, said DCR will send a letter to the Massachusetts Enviornmental Protection Act office to ensure any proposed wetlands won't affect reports and statements already filed for the project.
MEPA should be threshold as to whether the plan should move forward, said Garnett. "MEPA is a deal breaker."
Cameron, who's worked on other projects for the Office of Dam Safety, said an acre and half of wetlands was filled in at Ashmere Lake to reduce the 19th-century dam's steep slope to current standards. Nearly a year was spent searching for suitable sites closer to the lake but ran into issues with slope, land titles and vegetation.
"They don't want people cutting down trees in upland forest to create wetlands," said Cameron. Representatives from the DEP were looking over the glen last spring and noticed several suitable locations for wetlands that would not require cutting trees. They asked DCR to look into it.
The prime locations are adding on to the manmade irrigation pond or removing the concrete pad of a long-gone maintenance shed north of the pond to create a basin fed by stormwater. Two backup sites are fallow meadows north and south of Gould Road.
Trails architect Harry Dodson of Dodson Associates said the pond site would require repositioning some trails but thought the wetlands addition would make the pond more natural. "I think the changes to the pond would enhance the pond but I do understand the concerns that something could go wrong with the project."
Of immediate concern was the 100-foot buffer zone around the new wetlands and how that would affect the plans for an environmental education center nearby. The other three sites would not have as much impact on the 20-odd acre "development zone" within the Greylock Glen's 50 acres.
Cameron said the Office of Dam Safety preferred the pond because of its ability to be used for educational purposes.
"The pond now provides some wetlands functions ... but the structural habitat is really limited," he said. Adding wetlands would allow more shallow water habitat, vegetation and logs, and provide nutrients. "In addition to making the pond more natural looking, if done correctly, it should significantly enhance the wetlands foundation there now."
The Office of Dam Safety would provide all the funding for the wetlands, making its location at the old maintenance shed more desirable since the ODS would pick up the tab for removing the unsightly concrete.
Garnett said the time line is tight because there is an administrative consent order pushing the project. DEP wants a plan submitted by February and construction completed by next September.
The other agencies are aware of the importance of the glen project but need to know soon if the town is willing to accept the wetlands. The consent order could be accepted and details worked out later, said Garnett.
"[DCR] is not going to do something to jeopardize this project," she said. "I'm here just to see if it would work. You should be deciding if this is a plus for the property."
"I'm sure we're willing to cooperate as long as our project remains intact," said Haddad.
The committee also heard that the development area has been delineated and wetlands and crossings mapped out; the trail system is expected to go before the Conservation Commission in December.
"The potential developer can know he's free to build without going to the Conservation Commission," said Marshall Dennis of Wetlands & Wildlife Inc., who added the permit will be good for three years. "That will establish the building envelope so they'll know what they're up agaainst if they go outside it."
Garnett said a financing package would have to be in place that satisfies both the town and the state Department of Capital Asset Management before the developer could apply for permits.
The state's Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program has approved a three-year program for attacking invasive species at the site. Both Garnett and Community Development Director Donna Cesan said any developer coming in would have to provide a long-term management plan for combating the invasive plants.
Grey Lock Glen Wetlands Proposal
