Commission approves selective timber harvest at 9 Angela Lane

The Wellington Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission voted April 27 to approve timber-harvest application TH26-2, a selective harvest at 9 Angela Lane.

Applicant A. Harmon described the plan as a follow-up harvest on a parcel previously worked under a different owner. He told the commission the operation will remove mature hardwoods (about 13,000 board feet of saw timber, plus an estimated volume of firewood), will use previously used skid trails and log landings, and is expected to take roughly two to three weeks of good weather once equipment is on site.

Harmon said the harvest will avoid the property’s conservation easement area. "There are conservation easement markers as well as signs up and I reflaged that area as well," he said, adding the operation will use prior access points and not disturb the easement.

Commissioners questioned whether wetland edges had been field-flagged and whether the parcel’s wetland soils layer had changed since prior maps. Staff and the applicant acknowledged the submitted map uses the conservation-easement boundary rather than a new wetland soils survey and noted that wetland-soils layers derived from aerials can differ from field conditions. The applicant said the easement area and relevant flags are visible on site.

A commissioner moved to approve TH26-2 "as presented in the application"; another commissioner seconded. The motion carried. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally; the commission recorded the outcome as approval.

Next steps: staff will record the decision and follow up with the applicant on any required site conditions or additional flagging before equipment mobilization.