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Select Board authorizes targeted knotweed treatments, defers Cherry Hill butterfly project pending environmental review
Summary
Board authorized targeted invasive knotweed treatments at two town locations and directed staff to include the work under existing contracts; discussion of a proposed Cherry Hill butterfly garden was deferred until historical arsenic/environmental reports and broader public input are circulated.
The Select Board authorized conservation staff to include two specified knotweed treatment areas under the current time‑and‑materials contract with the town’s vendor. Staff and the contractor said treatments will likely require multiple applications over two to three years and work will be coordinated to minimize impacts near school property, including consideration of signage and notification protocols.
Board members discussed treatment techniques (cut‑and‑paint vs. spray), the contractor’s licensed herbicide approach, and the need to isolate treated areas while restoring pollinator habitat in adjacent locations. The motion authorized Butch (staff) to engage the vendor and proceed with treatment at the two named locations.
Separately, the board considered a proposal to delineate part of the Cherry Hill town parcel for a butterfly/pollinator garden and to assign summer land stewards to restoration work. Staff recently located a set of archival environmental assessments and reported no immediate arsenic concentration concerns in the documents reviewed so far; however, members agreed to circulate the full environmental records for broader review and to seek public input before any formal land‑use decision. The board deferred final action on Cherry Hill until environmental files are reviewed and a process for public engagement is defined.
