Lathrop CPA app.docxProject Title: Removing Invasive Plants in CR Protected Forest and Wetland at Lathrop Community
Project location, including address and parcel number: Two sites for our project: (1)
Bridge Road Site: 680 Bridge Road, Northampton, Parcel 141. (2) Florence Rd. Site: Northampton land that is part of our campus whose address is 100 Bassett Brook Drive, Easthampton,
map 104, lot 2
Project Sponsor/Organization: Lathrop Community
Contact Name: Barbara Walvoord, Chair, Land Conservation Committee, Lathrop Community
Property Owner, if applicable:
Lathrop Community, Inc.
Mailing Address: Lathrop Community: 100 Bassett Brook Dr., Easthampton, MA 01027. Contact person: Barbara Walvoord: 45 Huckleberry Lane, Easthampton, MA 01027
Daytime
phone #:413-203-5086
Fax #413-203-5086. Phone me first.
E-mail address: walvoord@nd.edu
For the following, please refer to the Small Grant Eligibility Chart: http://northamptonma.gov/Documen
tCenter/View/4185
CPA Program Area (check those that apply):
X Open Space Historic Preservation
Community Housing X Recreation
Project
Purpose (check those that apply) :
X Preservation
Rehabilitation/Restoration
Applicant’s Signature: ____________________________
Date Submitted: ____________________________
For CPC Use Eligible: _____ Not Eligible: _____ Date: __________ Reviewer: ____________________
Appropriate for Small Grant Process_____
Referred to Traditional Funding Round______
Total Project Budget (not to exceed $6,000.00): $ 6,000
CPA Funding Request (not to exceed $3,000.00): $ 3,000
Funding from other sources: $ 3,000
List any in-kind donations
of labor or materials:
CPA Request as % of Total Budget: 50%
Budget Summary: Please specify how CPA funds will be spent. Itemize all projected expenditures. If budget is based
on a quote, please attach it. List any additional funding sources or donations of in-kind service. These funds must be secured at the time of application, as evidenced by a signed
commitment letter referencing the content of the application, and including any restriction on the use of funds.
Expenses: Removal of invasives (Contractor Quote, Attachment A) $
6,000
Other Funding: Resident donations (Attachment B) 3,000
1) Please provide a brief description of the project.
Over three years, Polatin Ecological Services will
remove invasive plants from 2 Lathrop CR sites in Northampton's high-priority open space areas: (1) 5 acres on Bridge Rd. campus, wooded with a stream and a public walking path that
links to Fitzgerald Lake (maps, Attachment C, D); and (2) 11 acres on Florence Rd. campus, woods and marsh along Bassett Brook [Parson's Brook] in the Park Hill area (map, attachment
E). Naturalist Laurie Sanders helped inventory and plan for our land.
2) What Community Preservation criteria – both general and program-area specific – does this project meet? Please
refer to the Overview CPA Plan Section, Page 6), and applicable program criteria. (Historic Preservation – Page 14, Community Housing, Page 22, Open Space, Page 24, Recreation, Page
31)
- General #1: Serves 2 CPA program areas: open land and recreation (hiking trail)
- General #3: Contributes to goals of Open Space Plan, particularly "manage conservation and recreation
lands well and minimize environmental harm" (p. 141). Specifically, "protect areas along Broad Brook and Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area" and the Parsons Brook/Park Hill area (p.
170). Lathrop's Bridge Road campus trail helps to "provide a wide variety of active and passive recreation opportunities" (p. 141).
- General #4: Saves threatened resources. Invasives
change the ecology and harm wildlife (Photos, Attachment F).
- General #5: Trail is near homes of nearly 100 seniors at Bridge Road (map, Attachment C).
- General #7: Lathrop works
closely with Broad Brook Coalition and Pascommuck Trust
- General #8: Leverages resident donations and grant from Community Foundation of W. Mass.
- General #9: Polatin was low bidder
in our search for contractors, but also very highly regarded in the area. For $6,000, we can bring the land back to a near-elimination of invasives, and then maintain it with annual
monitoring and removal of new invasives.
- General #10: The contractor has done excellent work for us in the past, within budget and timeframe, and is ready to begin this project.
- Open Space #1: This land is already protected
under CR (held by city of Northampton), but in this era, "protect" also has to mean protect against being overrun by invasive plants.
- Open Space #3: Trail provides recreation for
Lathrop residents and public (Attachment C, D).
- Open Space #4: Trail links to Fitzgerald Lake trails (Attachment D)
- Open Space #5: Northampton Open Space Plan refers to Lathrop's
Bridge Rd. CR property, which "protects sensitive stream and riparian environments." (p. 62)
- Open Space #11: Helps protect sensitive environment in the Parson's Brook and Fitzgerald
Lake areas. Provides a trail in urban area along Bridge Road (Attachment C).
3) What community need(s) does this project serve? If the project serves multiple needs and populations,
please describe them. If the project serves a population that is currently underserved, please describe.
Serves need for protected land in high-priority open space areas. Serves the
nearly 100 seniors in independent living at Lathrop Bridge Rd. campus, as well as the general public. Lathrop's trail is included on trail map of Fitzgerald Lake area (Attachment D).
4)
What specific guarantees will assure the long-term preservation of the project?
The land is in CR (Attachment G). See also Lathrop Commitment (Attachment H).
5) What community support
does the project have? Explain the nature and level of the support.
Lathrop residents donate individually and the Lathrop Residents' Council voted funds (Attachment B). Conservation
Commission approved the north campus work (Attachment I). See letters of support from community members (Attachment J).
6) How will the success of this project be measured?
By
the absence of invasive plants, as measured by annual monitoring.
7) Is ongoing maintenance and upkeep required? If yes, please explain how this will be accomplished.
The Land Conservation
Committee, working with managers and staff, will monitor for re-emergence of invasives and will remove them (Commitment Letter, Attachment H).
8) Explain the various steps of the project
and when they will be completed.
Bridge Rd. site: Last 2 years (2016-2017) of invasives removal (a grant from Community Foundation of Western Mass. supported Year 1); Florence Rd.
site: Three-year project to remove invasives (2015/16 through 2017/18). Contractor guarantees 95% removal (Contractor Quote, Attachment A; Conservation Commission, Attachment I).
9)
Provide any additional information you think would be useful in considering your project.
See list of attachments, next page.
Attachments:
Contractor Quote from Polatin Ecological Services. Includes maps of areas to be treated.
Financial Letter from Financial Director Debra Parry, stating that $3,000 matching
funds are in hand and will be used for this project
Bridge Road Campus Map showing homes of seniors, and trail
Fitzgerald Lake area trail map by Broad Brook Coalition, showing Lathrop's
trail as part of the Fitzgerald Lake area trail system
Map of Florence Road site along Bassett Brook, showing our site's relation to other contiguous protected land in Park Hill area.
Photos
Conserva
tion Restrictions Held by Northampton
Letter of Commitment from Lathrop Director Thomas Wright
Conservation Commission Approval for the Work on Bridge Rd. campus (we will also seek approval
for the work to begin on the Florence Rd. campus)
Endorsement letters from community members
Attachment A: Contractor Quote from Polatin Ecological Services. Includes maps of areas to be treated.
[original is on Polatin Ecological Services letterhead]
Barbara Walvoord
45
Huckleberry Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Proposal: Invasive Plant Control, Lathrop Community, Northampton, MA.
Outlined below is an estimated budget for services associated with managing
invasive plants in two regions of Northampton owned by Lathrop. The first area is on Lathrop’s Northampton Campus (Figure 1). The work will involve follow-up treatments in 2016 and 2017.
We performed the initial treatment work in the summer of 2015.
The second area is associated with the Easthampton Campus however it is located within Northampton. This area is approximately
10-acres and has a conservation restriction associated with it.
Figure 1. Lathrop Community Land Management Committee, Northampton Campus.
Targeted Treatment Methods
Cut Stem Treatment:
The cut stem/stump method for herbicide application is
used on invasive shrubs that are >6’ tall and/or with stems > 1” diameter. Plants are first cut with loppers, brush saws or chainsaws. Then a concentrated herbicide mix is applied to
the cut stem using by squirt bottles or daubers.
/
Figure 2. Cut stem treatment of woody invasives.
Targeted foliar with spray shield: Targeted foliar application of herbicide is
conducted using back pack sprayers equipped with high-pressure, low-volume nozzles that allow for carefully directed treatments. Spray shields (Figure 4) can be deployed by crew members
to further target the applications, and protect adjacent plants from inadvertent off-target spray.
/
Figure 3. Spray shield deployed to prevent off-target herbicide application to
adjacent desirable species.
Mechanical Removal: Woody invasives that are <5’ tall can be removed by either hand-pulling or mechanical extraction using a weed wrench or honeysuckle popper (Figure 6). Plants removed
in this manner can be disposed of off-site.
/
Figure 4. Weed wrench for mechanical extraction of woody invasives.
Upon your authorization, Polatin Ecological Services (PES) will
provide the following services:
Northampton Campus
2016
Task 1. Follow-up treatment (June 2016): Follow-up treatment of woody invasives. $1,000.00
2017
Task 2. Follow-up treatment
(June 2017): Follow-up treatment of woody invasives. $1,000.00
Easthampton Campus (Northampton)
Task 3. Initial targeted treatment (June 2016): Initial treatment of woody invasive
plants. $2,000.00
Total estimated budget for the scope of work: $4,000.00
Costs are calculated using the following rates: $50/hr. labor per restoration technician working on the project
(Massachusetts licensed pesticide applicator); mileage rate = $0.57/mile (2015 IRS mileage reimbursement rate);
herbicide materials estimated at cost plus 5% to account for freight/delivery costs. We will provide an invoice at the completion of each task with the expectation of payment within
30 days.
If you have any questions, please call me at 413-367-5292 or email me at chris@polatineco.com.
Sincerely Yours,
/
Chris Polatin
Company Manager & Habitat Restoration
Specialist
We maintain the following insurance policies:
• General liability
• Workers compensation
• Auto
We have a crew of licensed herbicide applicators who are experienced in
using herbicides safely and judiciously in a selective manner, and who are trained in native and invasive plant identification, as well as wetland identification.
Attachment B: Financial Letter from Financial Director Debra Parry, stating that $3,000 matching funds are in hand and will be used for this project
[Original is on Lathrop letterhead]
Community
Preservation Committee
City of Northampton
Dear Members of the Committee:
The matching $3,000.00 of resident donations are in hand and will be used for the project described in this
Community Preservation grant application which describes the removal of invasive plants from Lathrop Community's two areas of Conservation Restriction land that both lie within the city
of Northampton.
Sincerely,
[original contains signature]
Debra Parry
Director of Finance
Attachment C: Bridge Road Camus Map, Showing Homes of Seniors, Trail, and Areas for Invasives Removal