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Hillsborough Conservation Commission approves $31,350 contract to update town Natural Resources Inventory
Summary
The Hillsborough Conservation Commission voted 7–0 to approve a $31,350 contract with Moosewood Ecological LLC to update the town’s Natural Resources Inventory, agreeing to scale some work to control costs and asking the town to include $10,000 in next year’s budget for a partial payment.
The Hillsborough Conservation Commission voted on Dec. 9 to approve a $31,350 budget for Moosewood Ecological LLC to update the town’s Natural Resources Inventory (NRI). Linda White moved to approve the budget and Roger Shamel seconded; the motion passed 7–0.
Jeff Littleton of Moosewood Ecological outlined a seven‑task proposal that includes: Task I, review of existing information and project design; Task II, biodiversity assessments (Littleton recommended two to three weeks of field work); Task III, data development, GIS mapping and analyses to identify conservation focus areas and produce a Story Map for online viewing; Task IV, a wildlife habitat and natural resource protection audit; Task V, the NRI report (with JPEG maps suitable for the town website); Task VI, community outreach such as forums or a Bioblitz; and Task VII, project management and coordination. Littleton provided line‑item estimates, including $1,600 for Task I; $900 for Task II planning and $1,080 per field day (about $5,400 per week); roughly $4,000 for GIS mapping (about $400 per map); $2,000 for GIS analyses; $5,000 each for the audit and the report; Story Map costs of $1,500–$2,000; and outreach events at $1,500–$2,000 each.
Commission members discussed ways to economize, noting that maps unchanged since the prior inventory might not need to be remade and that outreach activities could be handled by commissioners. The Commission reached consensus that conducting a formal audit of the town’s planning documents was unnecessary for this update. After the vote Littleton said he would send a contract in January.
The packet also included routine business: the Commission reviewed correspondence from conservation partners and state agencies, and agreed to request $10,000 in next year’s contract services line to cover a partial payment toward the NRI update. At the meeting, Roger Shamel moved to approve the Nov. 11 minutes (Jim Riddle seconded); that motion passed 6–0–1 with Linda White recorded as abstaining. The Commission agreed to cancel the Dec. 23 meeting unless time‑sensitive correspondence arrived, scheduled a January work session to review maps, and discussed holding a drinking water presentation in February. The meeting adjourned at 9:42 p.m.
