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Temple Select Board votes to send letter to DES over Barry Orchard; rangers, water testing to follow
Summary
At its June 23 meeting the Temple Select Board voted unanimously to send a letter to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services after a resident and attendees raised concerns about landings and potential violations at Barry Orchard; state rangers will inspect and DES will arrange water testing.
TEMPLE, N.H. — The Town of Temple Select Board voted June 23 to send a letter to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services asking the agency to examine conditions at Barry Orchard after town residents described recent activity at the site.
Jaime Jones told the board that the rangers’ captain will inspect the landing area, the thinning area and the Converse Road landing, and that the head of DES’s water division agreed to arrange for water testing. "There has been a lot of activity," Jones said, and town officials should ask state agencies to follow up.
The motion to send a letter to DES was made by Select Board member Clayton Lennartz, seconded by Chair Ken Caisse, and carried unanimously.
Why it matters: The inspections and water testing could identify whether recent work at Barry Orchard has violated state or conservation rules and whether additional town or state action is warranted. Jones said the town will focus on what he described as "Basil law violations," and rangers will examine the specific landing and thinning areas named in his remarks.
Board context: Lennartz and other members framed the step as a request for state review rather than a town enforcement action; Caisse noted the board is following legal advice and that sending a letter would ensure the matter receives state attention.
What happens next: The board approved sending the letter at the meeting; Jones reported the rangers’ inspection and DES water testing were being arranged. The Select Board adjourned at 7:30 p.m.; its next meeting is scheduled for July 14, 2026.
(Reporting in this article is based on the Select Board’s public meeting minutes for June 23, 2026.)
