Beacon Falls Conservation Commission Establishes Critical Subcommittee

Three Commission Members Tapped to Control Open Space Management Planning

(Beacon Falls, CT — July 15, 2010) The Beacon Falls Conservation Commission is pleased to announce the establishment of a distinct subcommittee to reach its long-range goals and objectives in open space management, the news was announced today by Diane Betkoski, chair of the commission.

The open space management subcommittee, made up of commission members Diane Betkoski, Anita Goerig and Jeffrey Goerig will; 1) develop an Open Space Usage and Management Plan which includes a template of steps required for the successful management of open space, 2) coordinate environmental assessments to determine important characteristics which will help determine its future usage, 3) solicit and organize funding opportunities and 4) establish tools to measure, monitor and report on open space activity. The committee will champion open space assets by collaborating with all members of the Conservation Commission, the Board of Selectman and the Land Commission to ensure the optimal management of open space.

“This subcommittee was inspired in part when the Conservation Commission became the official stewards of the Lantern Ridge and Smith Farms open space parcels, over 97 and 5 acres respectively in 2009,” Betkoski remarked. Fieldwork has begun, including marking the boundaries of the Lantern Ridge property. To assist with the extensive planning the commission was fortunate to have had the CT Environmental Review Team (CT ERT) complete an environmental review of the parcel with a team of specialists drawn from a variety of federal, state, regional and local agencies. The team included a Wildlife Biologist, a Geologist, an Ecologist, a Forester, a Fishery Biologist, an Archaeologist, a Soil Conservationist and a Hydro-geologist.

The final ERT report will be a comprehensive natural resource inventory report for the committee to use in its open space management plan of Lantern Ridge, due out in late August. The conservation commission plans to hold a community meeting prior to releasing its final recommendation on the proposed use of this parcel.

Mission Statement and Purpose

The conservation commissions mission and purpose is to protect the natural environment of Beacon Falls by monitoring the development, conservation, supervision and regulations of natural resources, including water resources within its territorial limits. The commission keeps an index of all open space areas, publicly or privately owned, including open marshlands, swamps and other wetlands. Working in conjunction with the Land Use Committee, the conservation commission advocates for the proper use of these valuable resources. For more information contact Anita Goerig via e-mail at bfcc-ct@comcast.net. Join us during our monthly meetings the first Monday of the month 7:30 PM in Town Hall. Visit us on line at http://home.comcast.net/~bfcc-ct for updates.

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