Deerfield Academy Boathouse Tree Removal Hearing Continued to July After State Reviews Pending

DEERFIELD -- June 25, 2026, Deerfield Conservation Commission continued a Deerfield Academy boathouse tree-removal hearing and began overhauling its standing municipal wetland maintenance permit at its June 25 meeting. The commission voted 3-0 to push the hearing on an Academy NOI for removal of up to 10 hazard ash and maple trees at the rowing program dock at 518 River Road to July 23, after DEP comments arrived the day of the hearing and a Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program response remained outstanding; consultant John Bossie of Tighe and Bond noted the project "is very much a safety issue" for students on the docks. Chair Pete Law flagged that the application lacked post-work equipment-cleaning protocols to contain invasive species, including bittersweet and garlic mustard observed on site. Separately, the commission reviewed draft amendments to the town's July 2022 Bundled NOI, on which DEP has pressed for tighter culvert definitions, that would restrict the blanket permit to stormwater conveyance devices only, require separate NOIs for stream crossings such as Hawksbrook, and allow the conservation agent to substitute for a hired consultant on site-visit determinations, with a formal amendment hearing set to open July 23. The commission also noted MassDOT's 10-day appeal window on a roundabout project Order of Conditions was expiring June 26, with an appeal to DEP considered likely on roughly 10 conditions.