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Weir River Estuary Park Committee

Meeting Minutes

Committees: Weir River Estuary Park Committee

The Weir River Estuary Park Committee would like to invite the public to attend our meetings, which focus on care of the Estuary, including protecting land, improving water quality, and encouraging stewardship through education and respectful recreation.

2011 Annual Report

The Tri-town Weir River Estuary Park (WREP) committee works to protect, link, and restore continuous coastal vistas and habitat for indigenous aquatic and terrestrial species within the State designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern [ACEC (100 foot flood plain)] and the 200 foot River's Protection Act, as well as adjacent public and private properties. All the tri-town park properties are connected by the Weir River estuarine waters. (Visit committee web-site)

During 2011, the Weir River Estuary Park Committee met with representatives of various groups who serve the Weir River Estuary to foster communication and collect information for a potential Weir River Estuary Resource Management Plan. The groups included: Hingham and Hull Harbormasters, Back River Watershed Association, Hingham Harbor Development Committee, and Hingham and Hull Conservation Commissions, Massachusetts Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Program, and Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management.

WREP Committee members helped coordinate and publicize the annual spring clean-up of the Weir River Estuary, led by the Straits Pond Watershed Association in partnership with the Weir River Watershed Association and Hull Land Conservation Trust.

2011 saw completion of payment for the Chatham Street entrance to the Weir River Woods, Hull, MA. The Chatham Street property was identified as a conservation priority in the Weir River Estuary Land Protection Plan www.hingham-ma.gov/conservation/index.html, published by the WREP Committee in 2006. The Chatham Street entrance provides access to trails in an 18-acre publicly-owned preserve of upland and marsh along the Weir River Estuary. The entrance is now owned by the Hull Land Conservation Trust with a Conservation Restriction held jointly by The Trustees of Reservations and the Hull Conservation Commission. The Hull Land Conservation Trust is grateful for major grants from the Massachusetts Conservation Partnership Program, Sheehan Family Foundation and Fields Pond Foundation and for donations and participation in fundraising activities by over 1000 people. For information on walks generally held on the first Saturday of the month, go to www.HullLandConservationTrust.org or www.weirriver.org

In 2011, the WREP Committee also helped facilitate communication between the Hull Conservation Commission, Hull Land Conservation Trust and Cohasset Conservation Trust toward the goal of creation of a Straits Pond Wildfowl Viewing Park, consisting of a continuous walking route around Straits Pond along Atlantic Avenue, Jerusalem Road and a proposed path connecting West Corner with Richards Road. Creating this path will involve conservation of a portion of the Lofchie Property on Straits Pond to connect the end of Richards Road with the landward edge of the publicly-owned Straits Pond peninsula. Conservation of a portion of the Lofchie Property was also identified as a priority in the 2006 Weir River Estuary Land Protection Plan.

The WREP Committee invites you to attend its meetings, which are posted on the three towns' websites. The Committee is seeking new members interested in preservation, recreation and education for the Weir River Estuary Park Committee.

Co-chairpersons:
Richard Avery, Cohasset
Faith Burbank, Hingham
Judeth Van Hamm, Hull