Tag: Conservation Commission

  • Residents share thoughts for Weston’s open space

    In Weston, you can’t walk more than a half mile before reaching a trailhead, a fact Kristin Barbieri says distinguishes the town from other Boston suburbs.

    “You can go wander off down a trail in Weston without looking very hard, and I find that completely unique,” Barbieri said at a recent public forum, an event designed to help residents envision Weston’s open spaces over the next decade.

    “I hope we continue to do that and open up more routes into our trails for everyone,” she added.

    Dozens of people spoke during the public meeting on Oct. 26, imagining a town with connected parks, fields, trails and safe bike routes. Residents expressed a desire for neighborhoods with access to open spaces and winter-friendly features on the Mass Central Rail Trail, amenities that would make Weston appealing in every season.

    The input, officials said, will guide the town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP), a state-mandated road map that describes how the town will manage 2,000 acres of protected land and nearly 100 miles of trails through 2035. Massachusetts communities are required to have a plan for open spaces in order to qualify for state grants, including those that fund park improvements and conservation land acquisitions.

    “For us on the Conservation Commission, the open space and recreation plan is really our strategic plan,” said Conservation Administrator Jordan McCarron.

    The state’s shift to a 10-year update cycle has been better, he said, because many projects require long-term funding, consultants and coordination. The plan helps the town stay ahead of climate and maintenance challenges, McCarron said, such as invasive plants, forest pests and deteriorating trails. “We need to be able to access state funding,” he said, “and we can’t do that unless we have an updated and valid OSRP that’s been approved by the state.”

    Recreation Director Chris Fitzgerald said residents’ expectations have evolved since the last plan in 2017.

    “We’ve seen an increase in the variety of sports being offered in town and also the number of participants, both youth and adult sports,” he said. In response to demand, the town installed a cricket pitch at Cherry Brook Field for the Adult Cricket League of Weston last April.

    If the last decade was about building and upgrading, McCarron said the next decade is about connection. In a townwide survey, residents said they rely more on cars than they’d like when accessing open space and recreation areas. Instead, they would like safer ways to walk or bike.

    “This update is going to be focused fairly heavily on connectivity between our existing properties and neighborhoods, schools and athletic areas,” McCarron said.

    Scattered trail easements and nerve-racking parking problems, he said, are two issues that complicate residents’ access to natural areas.

    “The biggest outcome should involve just better connectivity to all of the recreational resources in town,” said Fitzgerald. “There will be more of them that you can reach without having to hop into a car.”

    Many speakers at the forum pushed the idea further, challenging Weston’s leaders to protect the town from development while becoming a regional model for managing climate-related issues.

    Nearly 20% of residents who took the survey said they don’t use Weston’s recreation offerings because they don’t know what’s available. Teenagers and older adults were highlighted as underserved groups. Other residents called for more children’s playgrounds, indoor recreation facilities and community events.

    “If people are not utilizing the recreational programming and facilities and our open space and trails, one of the main reasons is because they just don’t know about them,” McCarron said.

    Staffing issues, he said, are a challenge in the town’s Conservation Department, which manages 2,000 acres of land, more than 30 habitat meadows and nearly 100 miles of trails.

    “I’m the only full-time person, and I have two part-time staff,” he said, “but together they are less than one full-time equivalent.”

    McCarron said much of the hands-on work, from Stewardship Saturday projects to boardwalk repairs, is done by volunteers and the Weston Forest & Trail Association.

    “We still have to rely on … goodwill in order to get the real work done of keeping our open space accessible and in good shape.”

    Over the coming months, consultants and staff will update the inventory, set goals and bring the plan to boards and committees for support before submitting it to the state’s Division of Conservation Services. A final public presentation and state review are expected in early 2026, with the finished plan guiding decisions through mid-2035 or mid-2036.

  • The case of the purloined posts

    Tim Puopolo first discovered a signpost was missing on Oct. 7. Over the next three days, Puopolo, Needham’s conservation specialist and trail coordinator, found that a dozen more of the 8-foot-tall, beefy wooden posts — newly installed and waiting for trail directional signs to be attached — had disappeared from the Town Forest, leaving dirt-filled holes on the crisscrossing trails.

    The thefts have interrupted a 16-year trail improvement project and prompted a police investigation. The posts were installed at the Town Forest and Ridge Hill Reservation as part of the Trails Master Plan to update all of Needham’s forest trails into a cohesive park system. 

    The signposts were being installed ahead of the winter frost. Next spring, they will be supplemented with trail markers to help hikers who commonly find themselves lost in the maze of pathways.

    Each of the 4-by-4-inch cedar posts weighs more than 50 pounds. The thieves appear to have used trucks and specialized equipment to dislodge the posts, which were buried 3 feet deep.

    “As far as I know, (police) haven’t uncovered anybody with these posts or received any tips leading them in any particular direction,” said Puopolo. “It’s no longer a little act of vandalism, but something that’s very targeted.”

    Premier Fence, a company based in Canton, began installing the trail markers for bikers, hikers and dog walkers Oct. 6. Days later, by Oct. 9, more than $2,000 worth of wood was missing.

    Posts one and 29 were taken the day after they were installed Oct. 7. The fencing company replaced both posts, only to discover four more posts missing the day after. Three of those were from new locations, but post 29 was snatched for a second time, according to Puopolo. 

    “I went out there that Thursday morning, the ninth, and found seven more posts were missing,” said Puopolo. 

    It was at that point that he went to the police and filed a report Oct. 10 for a misdemeanor and the $2,000 of stolen property. 

    “There are no suspects or cameras and the poles will be replaced,” the report said.

    The wooden posts that have been inserted into the ground, sprouting 5 feet above the soil, don’t make for an easy snatch and sprint.

    “It was quite an effort to pull these things out,” said Dave Herer, chair of the Conservation Commission. “They weigh over 50 pounds, 3 feet of wood is in the ground too.”

    “It would not be possible for a person to carry 10 of these out of the property without multiple people, multiple trips, or even the aid of a vehicle,” said Puopolo.

    The majority of posts were taken off a major artery of the blue trail that goes through the property, one that’s big enough to allow for vehicular access. The posts haven’t been found anywhere on the property, and the holes left behind from being dug three feet into the ground have been backfilled by the thief with dirt and debris, according to Puopolo.

    “I’m thankful they were worried about people not breaking their ankles in the holes, but that just adds another level of intention into this whole thing,” he said.

    Puopolo hasn’t returned to the scene of the crime in weeks, putting a halt to replacing the posts until the project starts up in the spring. In hopes of explaining what the posts are and why they’ve been put on the trails, Puopolo has put up laminated signs stapled onto the wood that explain they’ll be “helping people at major intersections and trailheads.” 

    “I thought people were just uninformed or fearful of potential projects,” said Puopolo when asked what someone’s motive for taking the posts would be, suspecting that a lover of Needham’s outdoors might’ve been trying to put a stop to any construction that would destroy the landscape. 

    Herer says the signs are needed. “I know people that don’t even want to go there because they’re afraid of getting lost,” he said.

    Eleven of the 85 trail markers have been stolen as of Oct. 9 — as far as town officials know — but there may be more. A full assessment of the theft is expected to be finished when the project starts back up in the spring.

    “There’s no guarantee that any time, money and effort we spend replacing them now that they’ll stay,” said Puopolo. “It’s not just the cost of the post, but the labor.”

    Needham Police currently have no leads on the thief’s identity. Some of the $2,000 worth of wood that’s gone potentially could be covered by insurance, but the town finance department has yet to give the final word on that process, according to Puopolo.