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Intern reports extensive trash, debris across seven Greenland conservation easements; commission plans cleanups and signage
Summary
An intern told the Greenland Conservation Commission that seven 2025 easement monitoring visits found trash, abandoned vehicles and unauthorized structures at multiple sites; the commission approved follow-up cleanups, deed summaries and outreach steps.
Ella McRae, the Conservation Commission intern, told the commission at its Jan. 14 meeting that seven conservation easement monitoring visits were completed in 2025 and that most showed trash, debris or unauthorized structures that need attention.
McRae said six visits were conducted on foot and one (Falls Way) as a drive-by. Site-by-site issues included Weeks Brick House Trail (Jan. 10, 2025), where inspectors found trash, one tree down across the path and a small geocache; Valhalla Drive (May 16, 2025), where two hunting blinds were noted; and Packer Brook (May 18, 2025), where McRae reported debris tied to train-track maintenance, hunting blinds, a trail camera, an old rusted car body, a wooden play structure and many glass bottles.
She also reported lingering campground-site trash at Thompson Brook Trail (June 17, 2025); substantial debris at Maloney Fields (June 8, 2025) including an abandoned car, a boat, a tire and large metal tanks; and large piles of trash not accessible from trail at Coakley & Seavey Way, including a jersey barrier and an abandoned couch that may be on an adjacent property line. Falls Way was completed as a drive-by on Nov. 26, 2025. McRae identified three sites that were not visited: Moulton Ave (to be surveyed in winter months), Bayside Road and Packer Bog (which she recommended be surveyed by drone because of poor accessibility).
The commission discussed possible cleanup work at Thompson Brook and Coakley & Seavey Way and the practical limits of access. Kathleen Babin-Johnson said she would follow up with Bethany Church officials to ask whether the church would consider allowing "No Dumping" signs on or near its property to discourage illicit dumping. The commission noted that deed summaries McRae prepared will help current and future commissions understand easement constraints and permitted uses.
Next steps recorded in the minutes include scheduling follow-up cleanup discussions, arranging winter or drone surveys for inaccessible sites and using the deed summaries as a reference for future monitoring and outreach.
