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Neighborhood group seeks three‑year herbicide and hand‑pulling program to control water chestnut on Sudbury River
Summary
Homeowners and neighbors presented a Notice of Intent to extend Concord Land Conservation Trust treatment for invasive water chestnut downstream of an earlier project; the commission requested annual reporting as a special condition and will finalize permits at a subsequent meeting.
Residents representing the Sudbury River Neighborhood Group asked the Concord Natural Resources Commission to authorize a multi‑year invasive species control program aimed at water chestnut in the Sudbury River.
Paul McGinn, who lives at 95 Coolidge Road, said the neighborhood effort would extend the Concord Land Conservation Trust’s earlier project downstream toward the Concord railroad bridge. The group proposes to use the same contractor that worked for the conservation trust and to combine herbicide treatment with hand‑pulling. McGinn said the contractor advised a roughly three‑year sequence — an initial application in late June or early July, a revisit in August, and annual reevaluation — intended to suppress water chestnut enough to return to routine hand‑pulling.
Jane Grob Chevalier, executive director of the Concord Land Conservation Trust, testified in support of the application. Commissioners asked about monitoring and reporting. The applicants agreed to provide annual reports and staff said the commission would require annual reporting as a special condition.
The commission reviewed the scope shown in presentation imagery and discussed coordinating timing with the conservation trust’s work to achieve efficiencies. No permit order was issued at the meeting; staff said an order of conditions would be prepared and mailed to applicants and that the commission would vote on formal issuance at a future meeting.
Why it matters: Water chestnut is an aggressive aquatic invasive species that can dominate surface waters and alter habitat and recreation. The proposed coordinated, multi‑year approach ties contractor herbicide use with follow‑up hand‑pulling and ongoing monitoring.
Next steps: Staff will require annual reporting as a condition, prepare an order of conditions for commission action at the next meeting, and post the permit documents to the project file.
