Fri, 04/18/2014 - 9:00am

RYAN LEIGHTON, Staff Reporter

The Boothbay Region YMCA is required to replant and restore .77 acres of trees that were cleared next to Knickerbocker Lake. Courtesy of the Boothbay Region Water District

The Boothbay Region YMCA has agreed to replant and restore a clearing of trees at Camp Knickerbocker, as mandated by the Boothbay planning board.

The YMCA ceased timber harvesting operations at Camp Knickerbocker on February 27 after the Boothbay Code Enforcement Department learned that unauthorized clear cutting had occurred on more than two acres of land between Knickerbocker Lake and Barters Island Road in the watershed protection district.

Since the YMCA never sought a permit from the town of Boothbay, the YMCA had to pay a fee of $750 in order for the case to be heard retroactively by the planning board.

On April 16 the YMCA presented its proposal for the reforestation of .77 acres of land that was cleared within 500 feet of Knickerbocker Lake.

In the proposal, YMCA Executive Director Andy Hamblett said there is no longer a master plan to convert the site into a recreational field.

“The intent of the whole project was to harvest, and be good stewards of the resources there and not to move forward with the Y's master plan to someday have a field there,” Hamblett said. “So we struck out any reference to that field and we have a plan in place to replant that area.”

Hamblett said the YMCA has hired a forester to plant 500 seedlings of white spruce trees, remove the slash (piles of trees that were cut), and oversee erosion control on the property.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Fran McBrearty said the YMCA showed good intentions, but he felt the proposal lacked crucial details and planning such as monitoring success rates of the new plantings, mandatory inspections, and completeness reviews lasting up to 3 to 5 years after the reforestation plan has been implemented.

McBrearty recommended a list of conditions based on extensive reforestation plans that have been previously approved by the town.

“We can approve something with conditions,” McBrearty said. “And if the conditions are such that the board is comfortable with this and you're willing to accept them as the responsible person from the Y, you might be able to walk away from this.”

The planning board demanded that the YMCA develop and implement a reforestation plan that must be approved by a licensed forester, as well as the Boothbay Code Enforcement Department and the Boothbay Region Water District before any logging or timber harvest can continue at Camp Knickerbocker.

Hamblett agreed with the planning board’s decision. Towards the end of the hearing, Hamblett said the YMCA wants to be a lead organization in working with the town and water district, so that all parties are satisfied moving forward.

“This has opened up the eyes to us and other businesses and residences that sit within the watershed overlay zone, and the Y is committed to being a partner in going forward,” Hamblett said.

The reforestation plan must be implemented in 2014.