PEABODY— An amended Enforcement Order issued by the Conservation Commission to Salem Country Club for illegal tree removal without prior approval from the commission is requiring the club to completely restore the lost tree canopy to full canopy in 10 years.
“That’s the whole point, doing that will help the environment totally,” said commission Chair Stewart Lazares. “We have no control in non-jurisdictional areas, although it would be nice if they took care of that too.”
Under the terms of the order (dated Oct. 14), the club is required to complete several action items to address the removal of 223 trees earlier this year.
The club must submit a restoration plan and schedule to the commission no later than Nov. 20, 2022. The order notes that “at a minimum, the
commission is looking for at least one-to-one replacement for each tree lost.”
The new Enforcement Order is just one part of the club’s troubles. At an Oct. 12 commission meeting, Conservation Agent Lucia DelNegro said she plans to meet with the city solicitor to recommend fines be issued against the club and Mayer Tree (the company hired by the club to remove the trees). She said she wants to fine Salem $300 for each of the 233 trees removed from jurisdictional areas, which comes to $66,900.
The club had obtained commission approval in January 2022 to remove 20 trees on the sixth and seventh holes under an existing order of conditions. A few days later, DelNegro received inquiries from city officials asking if the club had permission to remove trees. DelNegro also received anonymous complaints that tree cutting was not limited to those two holes and that other protected areas were being altered.
A site visit on Jan. 27 confirmed there had been tree removal in jurisdictional areas, large amounts of wood chips had been blown into buffer zones, and the bank of an irrigation pond had been altered.
The commission issued a verbal cease-and-desist order. Violation orders were issued in late January to the club and Mayer. The club confirmed at a special hearing in March that a minimum of 205 trees were removed within conservation jurisdiction.
At a commission meeting earlier this month, Michael DeRosa of third-party peer review consultant DeRosa Environmental Consulting, Inc. summarized his findings on the extent of the loss of tree canopy caused by tree removal. The assessment is attached to the order.
“The take-home message from this assessment is to give the commission a sense of the extent of canopy loss and impact to resource areas and buffer zones and to give the club and their consultant some direction for what the commission is going to be looking for in an amended restoration plan,” said DeRosa.
DeRosa said a total of 9.3 acres were lost with 3.9 acres occurring in jurisdictional area with a majority of removed trees having a 20-inch – 36-inch diameter.
Lazares said the canopy loss is equivalent in size to nine football fields and asked if invasive species are taking over.
“These areas are different from what was there before,” DeRosa said. “The shade-tolerant species will be moving out and the sun-tolerant species are coming in. Part of the restoration plan needs to address those areas… to avoid becoming a seed source for invasive species.”
DeRosa said he also detected areas containing wood chips ranging from 6 to 17 inches in depth, saying “that needs to be removed…otherwise tree growth is suffocated.”
The club has until Dec. 15 to remove wood chips greater than two to four inches in depth in all areas. The method of removal shall be approved by DelNegro and DeRosa.
“The club has been ready, willing, and able to clear out the thicker areas of woodchips,” said club Attorney Barry Fogel. “Now that you’re giving the go-ahead on that, (course superintendent) Bill Rocco can talk to Lucia and Mike DeRosa and work out a method for getting those thicker areas of wood chips out of there immediately.”
The club has until June 30, 2023 to “implement the Restoration Plan as approved by the Peabody Conservation Commission.”
Functional restoration of altered wetland resource areas and buffer zones must be completed by Oct. 31, 2027. A final monitoring report and an as-built plan describing the restoration work must also be submitted to the commission by the same date.
The order also requires the club to ensure a wetland scientist is on-site to supervise the restoration and verify that the work is being conducted in accordance with the Restoration Plan.
“I am grateful to our Conservation Agent and the commission for their passion for the environment,” said Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr. “They are working hard to do the right thing.”
Failure to comply with the order may trigger additional legal action under the Wetlands Protection Act including a fine of not more than $25,000 and/or imprisonment for not more than two years or a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation. Under the act, each day or portion thereof of a continuing violation constitutes a separate offense.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
