Tree Removal Underway at Sandra Pond

The view around the Sandra Pond Reservoir is about to change. Forest cutting is scheduled to begin this week and continue into the Spring, according to a plan outlined by Assistant Town Planner and Conservation Officer Derek Saari to the Board of Selectmen on Dec. 13.

The purpose of the plan is to stagger the growth of trees around the reservoir. In order to put the forested area on a staggered growing schedule, dead and dying trees will be removed to make way for new tree growth, Saari explained.

Saari told the selectmen that the project has been in the planning stages since 2003. In March, bidding on tree removal was opened and a contractor, Forward Enterprises owned by Paul Davis of Oakham, was selected when bidding closed at the end of November. Saari was before the board with Davis for a vote to approve the bid.

With a map in hand, Saari referred to three swaths of land that are being targeted for tree removal. The first is by the Bowman Conservation Area parking lot on Bowman Street. The second is off of the fire road on Bowman Street and the third is around the smaller reservoir near the intersection of Bowman Street and Upton Road.

Bowman Street resident Ned Thompson addressed the selectmen with concerns. “Mother Nature has taken care of the reservoir for a number of years,” he said. He felt strongly that there was no need to interfere with the tree cycle of nature.

He went on to say that he received notice of the tree removal just days earlier and then walked the forest to see how many trees were set for removal. He said he was surprised that so many trees were marked. He stressed that there is currently one canopy in the forest and that it will be destroyed by the proposed project.

Additionally, Thompson said he researched the contractor who was chosen for the project and found that he was responsible for a botched project in Petersham in 2008.

The project that Thompson was referring to involved a reported agreement in Petersham to have Foward Enterprises remove a set amount of trees near the country club there. The company was then sued in 2008 by The Harvard Forest, a nonprofit research and education institution that maintains a 3500-acre outdoor classroom and laboratory in Petersham. According to The Harvard Forest website, the lawsuit asked for $850,000 in damages from Forward Enterprises to repair damage to a stone boundary wall, restore a vernal pool and replace the 19 largest of hundreds of "high value" trees that it said were cut and removed illegally.

The concern implied by Thompson was that too many trees might be removed from the Sandra Pond reservoir forest. He gave each of the selectmen photos and reports that he printed from the Internet that he said criticized Davis and Forward Enterprises, He cited comment from Petersham Tree Warden Mike Leonard, a licensed forester, who posted video of what he calls forest destruction in Petersham by Forward Enterprises.

Davis said that the Petersham job did not have the same goals as the Westborough project. Saari said he was aware of the Petersham project and that it did not dissuade him from wanting to hire Davis. “I am not concerned,” said Saari.

Thompson also expressed concern with the dam near the smaller reservoir. He said that it could collapse with heavy equipment because it is leaking on the north side. The seepage has saturated the land, he said, and he was concerned that the dam might give. Thompson finished his plea by reminding the board that trees are a natural sediment barrier, erosion control and sound barrier.

Saari explained to the board that many of the trees were showing signs of disease that could affect the reservoir and surrounding forest and that there were areas where more trees had fallen than were standing.

John Walden, manager of the , then addressed the board to say that it is standard practice to stagger growth in forests. He said he had been wanting to see this done for about 30 years and warned that the forest will all decline at the same period of time without this project.

“Cutting trees is a very, very charged issue,” added Davis. “You are going to hear about this project for a considerable amount of time after this is done…it is not the sightliest thing. After a few years, it will become more pleasing to the eye.”

“It is going to look harvest,” Thompson said. “It is going to look clear[ed].”

The selectmen then voted unanimously to award the contract to Forward Enterprises in the amount of $10,664.50.

Work is scheduled to start immediately beginning with the area behind the parking lot on Bowman Street, said Saari. He said that he was hoping to have the work done by March 2012.

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