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News from the year 2007 

2007 Annual Report

The Northborough Trails Committee's (NTC) formal name is the Trails Subcommittee of the Northborough Open Space Committee. Arthur Cole founded the Trails Committee in February of 2001 under the auspice of the Open Space Committee. The Trails Committee’s goal is to develop and maintain a viable recreational trail system in Northborough on public and private property by utilizing volunteers from the community. During the 2007 calendar year we had a busy year with our administration, trails development, and stewardship of existing trails. Some highlights of our years activates are described below. The NTC encourages everyone to enjoy the Town’s resources and to participate in NTC activities. A new addition to the NTC during 2007 is a Letter Boxing activity Blog Spot designed by Sherral Devine. Checkout the NTC website for other information about the Northborough trails network at: http://www.town.northborough.ma.us/ntrails/index.htm and the Letter Boxing Blog at http://northboroletterboxing.blogspot.com/

          The NTC acts as the Trail Steward for the Northborough Conservation land on Mt. Pisgah. The Mt. Pisgah area has had an increase in recreational users over the last few years due to word of mouth and news publications about this seemingly remote and beautiful land that makes up the Mt. Pisgah Corridor. One visitor recently commented to me that as she walked the South Gore Trail she felt like she was on a New Hampshire mountain, but she was only ten minutes from home. Due to the increased use of the land the NTC will continue to monitor the trails for needed maintenance and improvements, but feel free to contact us about any concerns or suggestions. The Mt. Pisgah North View is located in Berlin on private property and over the last several years the view to Boston has become overgrown with trees. In December 2007 the NTC was granted permission by the property owner to cut trees in order to restore the view. That work began during the first week of January 2008, and we hope to have the view fully restored by spring. The Mt. Pisgah South View is in Northborough, and also on private property. The South View has also become over grown with trees during the last several years and we are attempting to gain permission from the property owner to restore that view too. The Town of Berlin has a Trailhead to Mt. Pisgah on Linden Street (via the Devine Trail) and during August 2007 the Town of Berlin created an official trail head parking lot at the Devine Trail. The NTC is grateful for this new trailhead parking lot because the Smith Road access has been handling most of the visitor traffic, and we’re hopeful this new parking area will help disperse visitor traffic.

          The NTC also acts as Trail Steward for the Little Chauncy/Cedar Hill/Crane Swamp recreational area, which is land owned by MassWildLife, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), and Sudbury Valley Trustees, so we co-steward that trail system with SVT and the Westborough Land Trust, who operates the Charm Bracelet Trail system in Westborough. In July 2007 Eagle Scout Miles Ferguson with the Northborough Boy Scout Troop 1 completed a relocation of a portion of the Talbot Trail for his Eagle Scout Project. The new trail, which is about 3/10’s of a mile long, bypasses a wetland area and now follows the high ground through a tall pine forest reconnecting back onto the original Talbot Trail on the other side of the wetland. Miles and the other Scouts working with him had to cut underbrush and tree limbs to create the trail, and install about 100’ of boardwalks. Thank you to Miles and the other Scouts for a job well done!

In April 2006 the NTC began development for an extension of the Coyote Trail at the Yellick Conservation Area. The new trail will begin at the current Coyote Trail’s dead end on the south side of the Assabet River, and then travel through Department of Conservation and Recreation SuAsCo property southeast to the Stirrup Brook, then after crossing the Stirrup Brook the trail will follow the Stirrup Brook down stream and out to Boundary Street. We hope to complete the trail by returning to the Yellick Conservation Area on the sewer line from Boundary Street then onto Hudson Street. The complete loop would be approximately 3 miles long. In 2006 we obtained Conservation Commission approval for the areas the new trail travels through wetlands, and then in December 2007 we obtained the final permit from the Department of Conservation and Recreation for development of the Coyote Trail extension. Two Eagle Scout Candidates, Ethan Langer and Daniel Rowe, will be working with the NTC to complete the trail and work on the trail began in late December 2007. We hope to have the trail completed to Boundary Street by late spring 2008.

In December 2006 the NTC received authority from the Algonquin Regional School Committee to develop trails on the woodland behind the high school. Our intent is to complete a trail connecting Rt-20 near the old rest area to Bartlett Street near Cedar Hill Road. This plan has the possibility of connecting the Cedar Hill/Crane Swamp area to our proposed Coyote/Stirrup Brook Trail on the north side of Rt-20. This trail is still in the development phase, and we hope to gain all necessary approvals and begin development after completion of the Coyote Trail extension.

Respectfully Submitted by,

Charles Bradley & Marielle Stone, Co-Chairs

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News from the year 2005 - 2006

2006 Annual Report

The Northborough Trails Committee had the purchase of an enclosed storage trailer or storage shed on our wish list over the last few years. In September 2006 we received a cash donation from the Shay Family so we could purchase a trailer. We recently made the purchase of a 5’X8’ enclosed cargo trailer with the money and it is parked at the Police Station with our tools inside. Prior to this, members had tools and supplies at their homes and we would each bring the necessary tools to a work detail. Now all we have to do is tow the trailer to the location of the work detail with all of our tools inside. We are very thankful to our generous benefactor. We would also like to thank Police Chief Mark Leahy for allowing us to store our supplies and trailer in the storage area of the Police Department, and to our Town Planner Kathy Joubert for making these wishes come true.

Another expensive item on the NTC wish list is a commercial type mower for mowing trails. Hiking trails such as the Little Chauncy Trail require mowing several times a year due to the quick growing grass. The NTC has been borrowing a mower over the last six years, so we would like to obtain our own mower, which we would store in our new trailer. 

In September 2006 Boy Scout Brian Daley from Troop 101 completed an Eagle Scout Project for the NTC. Brain, along with other Scouts installed about 300 feet of new boardwalk along the Cold Harbor Trail just south of Cherry Street. This area was regularly under water or very wet due to flooding, but now the boardwalk makes it a pleasant walk. Thank You Brian and the Scouts of Troop 101. 

Also in September, the NTC had a volunteer work detail at Watson Park. We planted a blue spruce tree near the butterfly garden, repaired some blue bird houses, cleared an observation area to the pond near the beginning of the trial, installed a new bridge along the trail, and we did general trail maintenance. Thanks to all the Volunteers who turned out to help.

This summer the Northborough Trails Committee worked with New England Forestry Foundation’s land steward Forest Lyford to create a new 1.2 mile trail on the New England Forestry Foundation land located on West Main Street called the Carlstrom II Forest, the trail is named Jubilee Trail. Forest Lyford is the NEFF Steward for that property, as well a Northborough Trails Committee Member. A guided hike of the trail was led by Forest on Saturday August 19, 2006 to officially open the trail to the public. Participants were introduced to forest-management practices, geologic features, and several of the many types of trees that can be found in Central New England, including American chestnut. During the last year Forest also produced a historic interpretive trail and brochure for the Edmund Hill Woods conservation area. We will be producing the brochure with funding we received through the Community Preservation Act, and also adding a link to this website so you can print it. Copies of the brochure are presently available at the Town Hall in the Planning Department 

The Northborough Trails Committee has developed an extension of the Coyote Trail at the Yellick Conservation Area. The new trail will begin at the current Coyote Trail’s dead end on the south side of the Assabet River, and then travel through the SuAsCo property southeast to the Stirrup Brook, then toward the Farm property owned by the Town on Rt-20, then around to the Assabet River and out to Boundary Street. We hope to complete the trail by returning to the Yellick Conservation Area on the sewer line from Boundary Street then onto Hudson Street. The complete loop would be approximately 3 miles long. We’ve obtained Conservation Commission approval for the areas the new trail travels through wetlands, but we’re waiting on final approval from the State and then we'll begin building the Coyote Trail extension.

Mt. Pisgah - In June 2005 under a stewardship agreement with MassWildLife, the Trails committee took over maintenance of about three miles of recently developed trails on the MassWildLife property located on the south end of Mt. Pisgah. The Fisher Trail and a small portion of the Vernal Pool Trail are on private property, and those land owners have agreed to allow the publics continued use of those trails, publication on a new map, and our maintenance of the trails.  

In June 2006 a new map of the Mt. Pisgah conservation area was completed by the Sudbury Valley Trustees after nearly a years worth of work between our two organizations. The map shows all the trails open to the public’s use from the MassWildLife land on the south side of Mt. Pisgah to Linden Street in Berlin on the north side. See the Trails link for the map.

Crane Swamp & Cedar Hill – In April 2006 the Mass Water Resources Authority reopened a connector trail from the Crane Swamp Trail to the SVT Sawink Farm property. The Crane Swamp Conservation Area contains over 2,000 acres of conservation land owned by Massachusetts state agencies and local land trusts. The Crane Swamp, Cedar Hill and Sawink Farm lands have over 10 miles of connected trails, which also provide access to the MassWildLife properties at Little Chauncy and Chauncy Lake. The towns of Northborough, Marlborough, Southborough, and Westborough have been involved in developing this network of trails, and in April 2006 the SVT created a new trail map of the area.

Respectfully Submitted by,

Charles Bradley & Marielle Stone, Co-Chairs

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