Whately Conservation Commission Continues Invasive-Species Hearing, Seeks DEP Response

WHATELY — May 20, 2026 — Whately Conservation Commission continues invasive-species hearing and flags a possible simpler permit path for a Chestnut Plain Road property. The commission voted unanimously at its May 20 meeting to carry the public hearing on a Notice of Intent filed by landowner Joya Casey to June 17, after determining it could not act without a DEP file number or formal wetland delineations. Consultant Rai described a two-year plan to control Asiatic bittersweet, barberry, privet, and honeysuckle using chainsaw cutting and foliar herbicide spraying with a glyphosate, triclopyr, and Escort XP mixture. A commissioner raised the possibility that the project could instead qualify for a DCR forest cutting plan under MGL Chapter 132, which would trigger the Wetlands Protection Act's forestry exemption and eliminate the need for formal wetland mapping; the applicant was directed to contact DCR service forester Sean Libby and obtain a letter from Franklin Land Trust — which holds a conservation restriction on the property — confirming the work is permissible. In a separate update, consultant David Cameron confirmed that a constructed wetland replication area at the Sovereign Builders self-storage facility off State Road has a visible water table roughly 20 inches below finished grade, and the commission authorized corrective regrading under the existing order of conditions.