1). Steve moved to approve the minutes from March 26, 2003 as amended. The motion was seconded by Jeff, and passed unanimously by the Commission.

2). DES (Kathy) - Davidson 2 kidney shaped ponds on Tuttle Road. The applicant has filled out a Standard Dredge and Fill Application because she has discovered leeches in the ponds. The ponds are approximately 50 years old. Once a pond is created any work requires a wetlands permit. Tom submitted a letter with the application stating that the ecosystem will be removed if they dredge the pond. The problem was probably created by lack of maintenance. There is an Intent To Cut form on Mountain Road. It is 179-acre parcel. They want to clear 150 acres. Tom wondered if this was the property that Sue Plunske had been worried about. Conservation would have been willing to make a modest contribution to the project. Kathy is trying to download a 67 page document from DES about Best Management Practices for Erosion Control on Timber Harvesting Operations in NH. She will call DES to have them send it or call Amy at the Office and she will print it off the net. There is a Watershed Ecology Class being offered July 28 through August 8 from 8:45 to 3 PM every day.

3). New grant (Lynne) - Lynne gave Tom a document that needs to be signed by him as Project Administrator in front of a notary. The Commission asked if it would be worth it to sponser Amy to be a notary. The grant provides just over $10,000 for repairing the bridge. Jeff asked if any extra money left over could be used to fix the banking. Steve wondered if someone would be willing to volunteer time to look at the bridge for an estimate such as a NH Civil Engineer. Tom recommended that they call Marshall Patmos who has given the Commission the name of the guy that moves materials in by horse. Steve asked if he should approach Cianbro, the company working on the Connecticut River Bridge to see if they would look at the Bridge. Kathy thought Americore could give a good estimate. Jim Pierce the Park Manager was also recommended. Lynne and Steve will present an advertisement at the next meeting to be run in the newspaper. Lynne asked how the check had come in from the last grant.

4). Old grant (Lynne) - $6,000 remaining for labor; only $35.00 remaining for tools and $225 for signs. Tom will contact the company who made the signs and request a bill. Lynne will contact the man who lives with Tim Butterworth to get started on Mountain Laurel. Lynne looked at the muddy sections of the trail that were fixed last year. There is only 1 section that needs to be repaired. The loop from Indian Pond coming back the first intersection with water needs some work. She will contact Dan. There is 1 year remaining on the grant.

5). Hazard Mitigation Committee (Bill) - Problem areas that the Town continues to contribute money to when they need a significant funding to fix it correctly. Winchester will be getting approximately $150,000 of Federal money to correct a couple of things.

6). Friends of Pisgah (Tom) - Tom has the $5,000 for the Friends of Pisgah, Trail Maintenance Fund. Conservation has some responsibility for it, because we have developed these trails that Friends of Pisgah is responsible for maintaining. The Commission will present the check at the next meeting for Friends of Pisgah on May 6th at 7PM at the Visitors Center. Lynne and Kathy will also attend.

7). Spring Projects A). Tom will be in charge of the trail signs because he is in possession of them. Tom, Lynne and Steve will post signs at Indian Pond on Saturday April 26. They will meet at Tom's house at 10 AM. B). Kathy will be in charge of the No Hunting Signs for Friedsam. C). Steve will be in charge of asking the snowmobilers to repair a bridge near the 63 lot. He will call Steve Laskowski. D). Lynne will replace the trash bags at the parking lot at Madame Sherie's tomorrow. She took the bags to dispose of trash she found in the area. E). The Commission discussed using colored symbols to identify different trails. Tom was in favor of paint daubs. Lynne objects to coffee can covers. Kathy thought bright plastic easiest to spot. Tom will go observe the symbols posted on Dort trail. Bill was not in favor of marking any trail. Kathy thought that people would get lost if there weren't any trail signs in Pisgah.

8). Other - A). Tom and Bob went to look at the Frances Wright property. There is no timber worth much at this time. The Commission still might want to pursue the purchase of this property along with possible the Stokes Foundation, the Joint River Commission, etc. Tom filled out the current use form for Mrs. Wright. B). Kathy presented a grant application for a bike path. The Commission thought a path from the center of Town to Spofford Lake would be a great idea. The applications are due July 31. Also because the old bridge is going to be opened for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. C). Swanzey was the recipient of the open space grant.

9). The next meeting will be May 21, 2003. The meeting adjourned at 9PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amy LaFontaine Secretary