Attendees: Buke Bisko, Ellen Mass, Catherine Woodbury, Bruno Cardarelli, Carolyn Meith, Elsie Fiore, Peter Joidan, Phil Rury,

Needed information for city signs for the new storm water constructed wetlands plans for the next few years

Weekly updates of time line plans- these are essential and will create good-will with the city of Cambridge
1) Description of work being performed on introductory board at entrance by T and Blanchard Rd side (Website not enough).
2) Full map on how to navigate the area and go around fencing. Dates closed and dates opened again.

Initial Notes for the site visit- Taken after the visit
(welcome to add anyone)

Ellen Mass, Elsie Fiore and Carolyn Meith attended for the local community

Purpose: To tag bushes and other vegetation which needed protection and were note-worthy habitat.

Many previous questions were repeated related to the project in general and pervious surface was once again brought up by Carolyn.
Catherine said it would be explained September 7 at neighborhood meeting.

Width of Mass Highway path in Belmont was noted as one of the reasons for the continuing site visits, as was the blocked wildlife corridor from Blair Pond to the forest and other mainland Reservation. Ellen asked if someone could ask Dan about this. He does not answer calls to update on this.

Peter, Duke and Catherine explained that the button bush and winterberry would remain as would most of the vegetation. Ellen remarked that there was knotweed in the Mass Highway section and she suggested they clear. Peter said Tara Mitchell would work with her on the community garden part of the entry to bring Yates Pond native vegetation to the Alewife entry as well as to the garden planned with community groups.

Phil and Ellen spoke about finding and measuring distances from the endangered species, Gentiana Andrewsii, which he could not find. Ellen Offered to lead him there, but he felt he could find it himself. IT was explained that the city would not be responsible here as they are too far away, but Mass Highway would need to know the coordinates of the GPS which were noted in Ellen's form for EOEA and Endangered Species Program.

Phil's job from Bioengineering and the city of Cambridge is to do a second wildlife assessment which he was in the process of doing. He says he has the Biodiversity of the Alewife Reservation book and DCR Master Plan and Stewart Sanders' earlier Field Guide. He will be assessing in order to remove burrows, nests in order to relocate animals. This was noted by Ellen is highly important.

Phil explained that they would be placing openings in the fences surrounding the work site in the reservation in order for wildlife to escape and move out of the area during construction.

IT would be helpful to have this information- follow up- before the September 7th meeting so as to show good faith in our meetings. We community people have little say-so in these matters, but in the case of the Reservation, as the major care-takers, stewards and educators of the rare urban wild for the last 7 years, we ask that our requests be respected and honored for their environmental assessments based on real-time studies from professionals and from years of observation and reports and photos.

It was noted by Ellen that she was pleased that some important steps had been taken from the last site visit in July which showed good faith and that progress was being made in protecting habitat and informing the public and regular monitoring and reporting by on-site chief engineer, Bruno Cardarelli.

Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Mass