BRADFORD CONSERVATION COMMISSION

2010 was an exceptionally busy year. Within each of the fields of responsibility,
BCC’s 2010 endeavors and accomplishments were as follows:
EDUCATION:
· Earth Institute courses, offered at the Bradford Public Library: “Choices for Sustainable
Living” (10 participants) and for 2011 “Menu for the Future” (21 participants)
· Participated in River Bend’s “Taste of the Bend”, where we promoted composting.
Continued support of composting project at OHS and BES.
· Compost and seeds donated to OHS biology classes for starting in the greenhouse.
· The plants were donated to OESC and to the Bradford Community Gardens, coordinated
by Meadow Squier and Abby Copeland Musty, who led a weekly series called “Gardens for
Learning” at the Community Gardens.
· Movie Series: First Monday of the Month, free, public showings of “King Korn”, “Unlimited-
Renewable Energy”, “Food, Inc.”, “Blue Gold”, and “Fuel”. Colatina Exit donated the space, and
CVPS donated a grant for this series to continue in 2011
· Earth Day presentation given by Sandy Price featuring the correlation between and music
and landscape design.
. “Permaculture-A Framework for Greater Food Security” talk given by Steve Whitman of
Plymouth State College in May.
· BCC presented gift certificates to 4 OHS students who successfully executed the
composting project in the school cafeteria.
· A $500 scholarship was awarded to an OHS senior who will be pursuing college studies in
wildlife management.
· Conferences and Forums attended by BCC members: AVCC Annual Meeting, Linking
Lands Alliance, NE Environmental Education Alliance Conference, Environmental Action
Conference, VT Energy and Climate Action Network Conference, Future of VT’s Working
Landscape Forum.
· Members also participated in a Wildlands Fire Course with the Bradford Fire Dept. held in
part on Wright’s Mtn.

GREEN-UP EVENTS:
. Green Up Day 2010, led by Barbara Kulzyck, was very successful with over 50 families and
organizations out Greening Up. This community event resulted in the proper disposal of 140 bags
of trash, 20 bags of recyclables and even some furniture. Using the Town Highway truck, Peter
Hatch and Gary Tillotson loaded up & hauled items left at drop-off points & BCC members assisted
at the central collection point behind the BA. Many thanks to Roger’s Rubbish Removal for hauling
away all the bags of trash and furniture at a reduced cost.
. Two Tire Drops, new this year, came about to reduce the number of tires left on roadsides, by
discounting the cost of recycling them. The Spring Tire Drop, supported by a grant from Central VT
Solid Waste Management District, collected 268 tires, and the Fall Tire Drop, underwritten by the
BCC, yielded 115 tires.
. Green-Up Day falls on May 7 in 2011. Your participation and the participation of those who
“Green UP” all year long helps to keep Bradford Beautiful!
MANAGEMENT:
· Volunteers cut and piled brush away from the cabin., This was burned during the winter
by Tom Gray and Gary Tillotson to reduce risk of wild fires during the dry season.
· Signs were installed in the Wrights Mtn. cabin reminding hikers and campers that fires are
not allowed inside the cabin. The wood pile near the fire ring was replenished and covered.
· A culvert was installed on “Joel’s Trail” to prevent erosion.
· The footbridge was repaired on “Chase Hollow Trail”.
· The boundary line between Loschiavo’s land and former Davis land was surveyed and
blazed, with the cost shared by John Loschiavo and the Friends of Wright’s Mountain Fund.
· New guest books have been placed in the trailhead kiosks.
· The annual monitoring visit by the Upper Valley Land Trust highly commended the BCC’s
management and stewardship of this land.

STEWARDSHIP:
· A photo display, in cases built and installed on the Wrights MT cabin walls by Gary
Tillotson, features volunteers engaged in many acts of stewardship on the mountain.
· All trails were groomed by volunteers on 9 trails work days, led by Tom Gray and Gary
Tillotson, in preparation for National Trails Day in June.
· “Race to the Top of Bradford”, a first annual event, was organized and led by Rick Evans
for National Trails day in June. This included a 1.5 mile Fun Run for kids, and a 3.5 mile course
from Chase Hollow Road to the summit and back for older kids and adults. The event was
sponsored by St. J Auto, and the Junkyard Band provided music. The Bradford Fast Squad
provided medical back up in the event of injury. Thankfully there were none!
· Nikki Darling secured advertiser/sponsors for a new trail map/brochure designed by Monique
Priestley. 500 of these were printed and placed in the trailhead kiosks beginning in May. Before
the end of August, the supply was depleted. The updated trail map, including the recently added
64 acres, has been reprinted and the kiosks have been re-stocked.
· “Cindy’s Trail” was completed by volunteers in late-summer trail work events; Randy Moore
built and donated a bench in honor of Cindy Clemence, a dedicated member of our Stewarship
Committee. The inscribed bench was carried to a rocky overlook on the ½ mile trail by Vinny
Wendell and Gary Tillotson, in time to surprise Cindy when she came home on leave from
Afghanistan in October.

LAND CONSERVATION:
· Bradford’s Conservation Fund allows Bradford to be pro-active vs. reactive when the
opportunity arises to protect a precious natural resource. Such was the case when 2 parcels of
land totaling 64 acres rich in wetland and forest habitat, and abutting the Wright’s Mtn/Devil’s
Den Town Forest came up for sale. Because of this Fund no additional burden was placed on
the tax-payers when $47,000 was drawn from the Conservation Fund to leverage a $91,000
grant from the VT Housing and Conservation Board to appraise, purchase, conserve and thus
add this land to the existing Town-owned conservation land.
· The Conservation Fund paid for ½ of the cost of appraising the 110 acres of the Burgess
Farm, and assisted in bringing the conservation/protection of this prime agricultural land into
fruition. Monies have also been pledged from the Conservation Fund for another Bradford farm
in 2011.
· 2010 was the most successful fund-raising year ever in terms of contributions and amounts
raised in fund-raising activities, totaling over $18,000. 39 individuals and families made private
donations, totaling over $4,500. Many local businesses donated goods and service enabling the
Conservation Fund Committee to conduct fund-raising activities that included the Annual
Calendar Supper & Auction, the 2010 BCC Calendar, The Yard & Estate Sale, Race to the Top
of Bradford refreshments, Benefit Music Concert at the BA, Whole Hog Booth apple fritters and
refreshments, LEAF Booth apple fritters and refreshments, Buck-A-Pie week at the Colatina
Exit, and sales of BCC hats and water bottles.
. In past years, including 2010, the voters have allocated $5,000 as the town’s annual
contribution toward the Bradford Conservation Fund. In the 2011 Town Budget the Select
Board has cut that allocation in half, to $2,500.

ENERGY:
· Using proceeds from the 2009 Annual LEAF Festival, BCC’s Energy Committee, chaired
by Ed Wendell, initiated and paid for an energy audit of the B.A. building in January 2010. Zero
by Degrees Consulting agreed to reduce the cost of the audit in exchange for volunteer assis-
tance provided by Ed Wendell, Nikki Darling, Gary Tillotson, Dick Bolander, Kathy Davidow,
Shirley Beresford, Barbara Kulzyck, Nancy Jones, and Brent Bartlett. The results were presen-
ted to the Selectboard with recommendations for making the BA more energy efficient, and
outlined the dollar amount that could be saved with each improvement. Insulation was applied
under the new roof, the bell tower, and under the front entry in the Summer of 2010. Using
donated materials and labor provided by Gary Tillotson, Ed Wendell, Andy Clark, Gayle Balcom
and her children, windows were insulated above the suspended ceilings and behind the stage.
· BCC applied for and received an energy-efficiency grant from Two Rivers Ottauquechee
Regional Commission to pay for energy audits of the Town Garage and the Public Library.
· An application has been submitted to the VT Energy and Action Network (VECAN) to
support a future energy-saving project in Bradford.
· In April, BCC sponsored a Solar Hot Water Challenge where several vendors presented
their solar products and explained the cost-saving incentives available.
· The 3rd Annual LEAF Festival, coordinated by Laurie Storm, was held in September
featuring 21 energy-efficiency and renewable energy vendors, 16 free workshops focusing on
self-sufficiency, renewable energy, local food production, etc. Tours of the hydro dam and
solar homes were offered, as well as a day- long farmers & artisans market with live music and
a petting zoo. Keynote speaker Patrick Parenteau and a gubernatorial candidates forum
focused on VT’s energy future. Ads secured by Mary Wendell in the LEAF tabloid, funded its
printing and mailing to 11,000 households. Proceeds from the raffle, with prizes donated by
Farmway, Perrys and Neuton Mowers, as well as support from the Byrne Foundation, NE
Grassroots Environment Fund and TRORC, enabled LEAF to directly infuse almost $9,000 into
the local economy for this one-day event.

PUBLIC INFORMATION:
· In 2010 BCC promoted shopping locally and supported the Holiday Indoor Farmer’s Market
· BCC continues to support the expansion of the Bradford Park & Ride.
· Since 2002 the BCC has advocated for conserving the Bradford Municipal Forest, and recog-
nizes that the sale of this parcel to The Trust for Public Land will protect it forever as a public
recreational resource and prime wildlife habitat, and that it will continue to be responsibly managed
as a working forest.
Respectfully submitted, Nancy Jones, Chair