2007 Annual Report - Town of Wilton

the Town-wide Clean Up Day. Wildlife wasalso a hot topic with articles on coyotesand Canada geese. The public educationresponsibility is met through the publication ofthe “Land Use Question and Answer” booklet.This popular and free publication is availableat the Town Hall.In 2007 the Commission sponsored itstwentieth Household Hazardous WasteCollection Day at a new location, Miller/Driscoll Schools. The event was again held inOctober, when our 513 participants (499 werefrom Wilton) were met with heavy rain andlonger than usual lines. Wilton’s participationrate consistently ranks in the top two in theState of Connecticut.The Deer Management Committee continuesto report to and be supported by theConservation Commission, with an overarchingreview by the Board of Selectmen. The DeerManagement Committee implemented itsfifth controlled hunt. Hunting took place onland owned in Wilton by the Second TaxingDistrict of Norwalk, the Town of Wilton, andthe Wilton Land Conservation Trust. This yearhunting took place for the first time on a parceladjacent to Pope’s Pond and in the Sackett/Marble Richards-VanHaelewyn Preserves. Bothproperties were productive. In total, 129 deerwere culled from all properties in the Town’sprogram. Residents of Wilton have maintainedtheir support and the Deer Committeecontinues to encourage hunting on private land,stating the Town’s controlled hunts alone arenot enough to bring the herd in check.Patricia M. P. Sesto, Director of EnvironmentalAffairs, Michael Conklin, Environmental Analystand Karen DeSantis, Administrative Secretarysupported the work of the Commissioners.Commissioners who served in 2007 were:David Hapke, Chairman; Naomi Dempsey,Vice Chairman/Secretary; Nicholas Lee;Katherine Throckmorton; Kimberley Young;Patrice Gillespie; and Kristen Begor.In December, Naomi Dempsey left thecommission, having completed the Town’smaximum ten years of service.David Hapke, ChairmanInland WetlandsCommissionThe Inland Wetlands Commission is a sevenmemberboard with regulatory responsibilitiesfor administering the Connecticut “InlandWetlands and Watercourses Act.” By our localwetland regulations, regulated areas includewetlands, watercourses and adjacent lands.These regulations were established to protectthe resources’ attributes such as flood control,erosion control, pollutant attenuation, waterquality and habitat.There was a significant change in theregulations in 2007 with the adoption of a100-foot regulated buffer adjacent to wetlands.This is a 100% increase over the previousbuffer of 50 feet. The 100-foot regulated bufferadjacent to watercourses remained unchanged.In addition to this revision, there were severalless significant changes made in order to reflectchanges made to our governing State statutes.Proposed activities within regulated areasrequire a wetlands permit. In 2007, 124applications were received, a 25% increasefrom 2006, when the application volumehad dropped. Of the 124 applications, 52were considered Minor Regulated Activitiesand were approved administratively; theother 72 applications were submitted to theCommission, with 21 of those requiring apublic hearing.Land Use & Public Works30