This is the fourth annual report that the Commission has prepared since being created. The Commission has plenty of work and has kept busy this past year.  In January, the Commission received Brett Engstrom's Natural Communities Inventory of the Wu Ledges, Austin and Tardy properties.  The inventory discovered a community that had not been previously documented in Vermont and some rare grasses.  A public meeting discussing the inventory was held at the end of March.  These finds confirmed the need for the Commission to inventory all of the town's property to document what we are conserving.  With this in mind, we applied for but did not receive a grant to inventory the Scrag Town Forest.

The Commission reviewed various drafts of the new town plan from a conservation point of view and submitted comments and ideas to the planning commission.

The Commission has received communications from several landowners offering property and/or conservation easements at various locations.  The Commission reviews each of these offers for their importance to conservation goals, ability to provide recreational value, wildlife habitat, value to the tax base and ongoing costs for stewardship.  Just prior to the end of 2006, the town accepted two parcels that adjoin the Scrag Town Forest.  These parcels are important pieces for protecting the Mad River watershed, the scenic viewshed and in providing a large undeveloped area of wildlife habitat. Commission member, Leo Laferriere toured both parcels and found significant evidence of bear and moose activity.

In October, the Commission ran a "trailathon" on the Wu Ledges/Hastings Meadow lands.  A trailathon involves teams of two or three people with global positioning system devices to walk or in some cases run the trails located on the properties.  Stephen Engle from the Center for Community GIS, program of the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF) Atlantic Center for the Environment brought the GPS receivers, computer and software to download the information and led the training program.  Twelve teams covered the property and a draft map of the trails has been created.  This spring the map will be refined and published.  The Mad River Riders have volunteered to maintain selected trails and work parties will operate this spring.  Funding for this project came from the QLF, our budget and the generosity of several valley businesses.

On the day before the Trailathon, the Commission provided monetary and operational support for the Mad River Valley Forest Initiative, a day-long event discovering and celebrating our local forests.

At this year's town meeting the Commission has placed an article on the agenda to increase the size of the Commission to nine members and asks that you vote to increase the board.  The Commission needs assistance with the multitude of tasks that need to be accomplished to properly steward the town's lands.  Please if you are interested in serving on the board or just volunteer for a day or a particular project, contact any Commission member.

Respectfully submitted.
Mark Grosby, Chairman
Phil Huffman, Secretary
Leo Laferriere
Ted Joslin
Paul Hartshorn