Town of Charlton presents Little Nugget Lake restoration plan emphasizing manual removal and controlled drawdown

At the May 4 meeting, Karen Portillio, permit coordinator for water and wetland, presented on behalf of the Town of Charlton an ecological restoration-limited project for Little Nugget Lake, a roughly 14-acre freshwater lake used for kayaking and fishing.

"We are proposing an annual adaptive and survey-driven approach," Portillio said, describing a program that prioritizes manual removal (hand-pulling and raking) and uses herbicides only as selective spot treatment when densities exceed what hand removal can address. She emphasized the project will not involve dredging, filling, or shoreline alteration.

Portillio said the notice of intent includes a seasonal drawdown using the existing gate valve with a conservative target of up to three feet and a maximum rate of 2 inches per day within a November 1–April 1 window. She told commissioners the team has responded to comments from "Mass D." and committed to a final drawdown operations plan and adaptive protections to maintain native plant coverage before any drawdown occurs.

James, the project manager, said field mapping and surveys were recently completed: "We were at Little Nugget and Prindle in Glenn Echo today," and staff plan to share data with associations and homeowners' groups this week. Portillio and James said treatment timing is tentatively scheduled for June, subject to association approvals and required permitting (including filing a W4 where applicable).

Commissioners asked about refill protocols and timing; Portillio said the refill would likely match the drawdown rate (she suggested a conservative refill of up to 2 inches daily) and that the final operations plan would provide more precise rates and scheduling.

The commission moved to close the public hearing on the project; staff will require the final drawdown operations plan and adaptive protections before any drawdown is implemented.