For John Rand, the work of Raymond’s Conservation Commission can be boiled down to an effort to leave the town not too far
astray from the one he remembers growing up in.
Rand, a hydrogeologist and the co-chair of the commission, provided a presentation on “open space” in Raymond to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
“My biggest concern is without paying attention to this and not acting on some of it, we’re just going to pass on a Raymond that is so much different than what we enjoy today,” Rand said.
Rand said the commission’s charge is to prioritize certain areas of the town as significant natural resources that should be protected.
The commission based its rankings of places on the following criteria: water quality, recreation, habitat (animals and plants), environmental and public safety, land productivity (farms and working forests), and scenic and cultural value.
The geographic areas of the town that emerged high on the list, based on the criteria, included the land surrounding Morgan Meadow, the areas north of Raymond Pond and Gay Brook, the base of Rattlesnake Mountain, parcels along Thomas Pond watershed, Raymond Hill, Raymond Neck and the village, Rand said.
Rand said, however, the commission is still in the process of mapping out areas for two of the criteria.
Once the mapping process is complete, Rand said, the commission will hold a public forum in the fall to discuss the identified areas and to get input from residents.
“We need and want public participation in this process and so far that’s been light,” Rand said. “We definitely need stronger participation in the process for it to be acceptable.”
The goal of the commission, after public participation, is to put a finalized open space plan before the voters in the May 2008 town meeting.
According to Rand, the board of selectmen was supportive of the “open space” presentation.
“We basically did get a vote of support of our ongoing efforts,” Rand said.
According to chairman of the board of selectmen Mark Gendron, the presentation was an educational experience for the board.
Gendron said part of the outgrowth of the presentation will include educating Raymond’s residents about the natural resources in the community.
“Part of this will be educating people about what is available and certainly protecting our areas, which are fragile conservation areas,” Gendron said.
Gendron said protecting the town’s natural resources is a top agenda item among residents, according to surveys.
“It is one of the reasons they moved to Raymond is because of the rural character of the town,” Gendron said.
When asked how future conservation efforts may affect tax rates, Gendron said the costs of not protecting natural resources may be higher in the long run.
According to Gendron, half of the town’s revenue comes from the lakes.
“If we do not protect our lakes…it is going to severely affect the land values of property on the water, which ultimately costs us a lot of money,” Gendron said, adding, “So, it is very important to keep healthy what we have.”
According to Rand, there are several ways to protect places identified as valuable natural resources in the town. Those methods include getting a landowner to grant a conservation easement on the property, seeing if the state will acquire it, pursuing grants or having the town support the property through a bond.
Currently, Rand said, there is $40,000 set aside in the town of Raymond for conservation projects.
In 1989, the conservation commission worked with the state to acquire 1,100 acres of land – the Morgan Meadow area – from a landowner, Rand said.
The “open space” presentation is available for viewing by Raymond residents on the cable access channel.
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