HomeMy WebLinkAboutCB Minutes 2024-01-04 Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (CB) Meeting
January 4, 2024, 5:30pm
(In Person at Town Hall and via Zoom Video Conference)
Final Minutes
Members present: Lori Brewer (Chair), Frank Cantone (Vice-Chair), James Hamilton,
Ingrid Zabel. Quorum was not established.
Staff present: Michael Smith (Senior Planner)
1. Persons to be heard: None
2. Members comments/concerns: None
3. Environmental Review Committee Update: (Lori)
• Sub-division of 160 Seven Mile Drive. The owner wishes to divide their 52-acre
parcel into three parcels. The existing parcel contains some regulated streams.
Proposals include the construction of permanent residences, connected to
municipal water, sewer, and electric, logging, and the building of stream
crossings. This project is tentatively scheduled for the 6 February Planning Board
meeting.
• Cornell Meinig Fieldhouse, Indoor Sports and Recreation Facility, proposal. The
project would be located off Tower Road, with the majority of the project within the
City of Ithaca, as well as a portion within the Town. The City will take the lead on
the environmental review, whereas each municipality will conduct their own
building review. The project is tentatively scheduled for the 16 January Planning
Board meeting.
4. Chair & Coordinator Reports:
a. Chair Report: (Lori) contacted Katie Borgella of Tompkins County Planning and
Sustainability Department to come to our 7 March meeting to discuss the NYS
open space planning update.
b. Coordinator report: (Mike S)
• The Town re-authorized the deer management permit and submitted it to the
DEC.
• The DEC is seeking comments on a proposed rulemaking regarding new
freshwater wetland regulations. Among the major changes are a regulation of
smaller wetlands of "unusual importance" if they meet one of 11 newly
established statutory criteria, and the decrease in regulatory threshold from
12.4 to 7.4 acres, beginning in 2028.
5. Approval of minutes from June 2023 meeting: Tabled
6. Continued discussion of Indigenous Environmental Justice: (Mike R)
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Tabled since Mike Roberts was unable to attend the meeting, though Mike R is
working on examples of plant labels.
7. Continued discussion of deer browsing monitoring:
AVID (Assess Vegetation for Impacts from Deer) is a project that monitors and
evaluates the impact of deer browsing (https:Haviddeer.com/). Lori inquired of
Kristie Sullivan about conducting a hands-on workshop that we can co-sponsor and
invite the public. It is difficult to identify areas that have not already had an impact
on native plants. Consequently, how would we assess deer damage on impacted
areas? Could we engage with other conservation boards? How would we recruit an
audience? The Board would work with Ms. Sullivan to identify appropriate locations
for monitoring, though such locations may not necessarily align with areas included
in our culling program. James suggested other monitoring strategies such as dung
collection to estimate deer abundance. James posted photos on Facebook of dung
harvest from his backyard. James referenced an article in the British Ecological
Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, "Estimating deer abundance from line transect
surveys of dung: sika deer in southern Scotland"
(https://besiournals.onIinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/i.1365-
2664.2001 .00584.x). James is commencing a twice monthly dung assessment,
though not necessarily posting regularly on Facebook. Trying to balance the
awareness of deer impacts as a way to support deer management.
8. Discussion of Work Goals 2024:
• Conduct and improve environmental review process, site visits - Lori
• Promote awareness and importance of scenic resources, update scenic views
map, signage on Cornell land at corner of Snyder Hill and Pine Tree roads - Eva
• Communications via traditional and social media, solicit input and foster public
participation in resource and environmental conservation, outreach events (e.g.,
pollinator gardens) - Ingrid
• Fischer award, earth day, invasive species week, update Conservation Board
brochure - James
• Recruitment and public engagement (i.e., host public events) - Lori
• Tutelo Park improvements, installation of plant labels - Mike R
• Quarterly and year-end review of goals and accomplishments - Frank
9. Committee Reports:
a. Scenic Resources: (Eva). No report at this time.
b. Communications Committee: (James)
James was locked out of Facebook again and is hoping that Ingrid will take over
as chair.
c. EMC: (Ingrid)
Update on natural areas. Presentation on the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway
(https://blogs.cornel1.edu/tompkinspolIinatorpathwav/).
d. Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program: (James)
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• Adrianna Hirtler and six volunteers started analyzing a September sample from
the first decent riffle upstream of Brooktondale in Six Mile Creek. So far they've
identified over 400 organisms, with 23 different families in that fraction. Finding
over 13 families often proves a stream healthy, though other metrics need to be
applied.
• Open lab nights at Community Science Institute have been moved from
Thursday to Wednesday evenings, 6-9 pm at CSI's Langmuir Lab Suite 283.
James got a precision rain gauge through a CSI grant program and has been
reporting daily precipitation to the Community Collaborative rain, Hail and Snow
Network since 12/11/23.
e. Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Areas Program: (James)
Volunteers weeded woody invasives from south bank of Beebe Lake below
Toboggan Lodge, and from south bank of Fall Creek gorge below Fiji and Chi Psi:
jetbead (Rhodotypos scandens) and wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) were thick
there, with the usual honeysuckle, bittersweet, buckthorn, privet, and multiflora
rose.
10. Other Business:
Mike S to distribute the press release requesting nominations for the Fischer Award.
11. February Agenda:
• Deer management
• Environmental Justice
• Wetlands
12. Adjourn: 6:46pm
Minutes drafted by Frank A. Cantone.
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