Bedford Minuteman
October 11, 2001

Neighbors call vegetation management "scorched earth policy"

By Stephen Hagan, Staff Writer

Growth at Hanscom Air Field is something local officials want to control. So
do Massport officials.

Come again?

At least, the state airport board wants to control the growth of trees and
plants at Hanscom. The agency claims the cutting of trees and vegetation is
needed to promote safe approaches and takeoff zones for its airplanes.

But local officials and airport watchdogs are wary of the "Vegetation
Management Plan," something they feel might lead to more airplane traffic.
Safer landing and takeoff zones equal more accessibility to more airplanes,
so say the members of ShhAir, the Hanscom Field watchdog "Safeguarding the
Historic Hanscom Area’s Irreplaceable Resources and Save Our Heritage, a
second group that monitors Hanscom activities.

Massport and FAA officials claim the plan is necessary to promote safer
landing and takeoff zones. The conservation commissions in Lincoln, Bedford,
Concord and Lexington, the four towns that makeup Hanscom Field, are
evaluating the plans, according to Lincoln Selectman Sara Mattes.

She said the commissions are working together with the evaluations, adding a
draft form of the plan was provided to the towns in July.

"The conservation commissions have educated us that this is one ecosystem,"
she said. "Having the four commissions at the table working together is
effective. The sharing of information and cross-fertilization of information
and ideas brings together a wealth of knowledge.

"The whole is much greater than the parts."

Anna Winter, the executive director of Save Our Heritage, has seen parts of
the VMP and said she has "numerous concerns" about the plan.

"From what we know so far, it’s very probable that Massport intends to
expand jet operations and therefore will promote a fast-paced and rigorous
Vegetation Management Plan to accommodate those larger corporate jets," she
said.

Jim Henderson, a new member of the Lincoln Conservation Commission and
founding member of ShhAir, Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area’s
Irreplaceable Resources, said on Monday there is currently no schedule for
the plan, but added the effort is considered by Massport officials to be
part of their regular maintenance at the airport. He added it is not clear
if the plan will be an expansion of previous efforts to cut down vegetation.

"We need to look at that and understand the impacts of conservation and the
wetlands," said Henderson. "We really need to see what was done in 1998, the
last time they did this."

Conducting the plan is necessary to maintain Massport’s grants and contracts
with the Federal Aviation Administration, Henderson said. He said the
airport board claims control of vegetation and tree growth is needed to
"provide a certain level of safety." But Henderson said more needs to be
learned about the plan, something he said will take place in all four
Hanscom towns.

"We want to look at it to see the scope of the operation," said Henderson.

At a public hearing held on the matter earlier this year in Bedford,
Massport officials indicated thousands of acres of trees would have to be
cleared in the effort, Henderson said. He said residents concerned about the
local environment need to keep watch over the process.

"We need to watch the habitat," Henderson said. "We need to do full
diligence to what’s happening."

Mattes said the commissions plan to develop "reasonable" response that
includes a public process that also considers what Massport feels is
necessary for public safety at the airport.

But Mattes wants to hear more about the justification for the plan,
something Massport official claim is part of its regular maintenance
program. Massport officials say the tree and vegetation removal plan takes
place every few years and includes the removal of what Massport refers to as
"vertical intrusions" or "vertical penetrations," more commonly referred to
as trees. In addition to the tree cutting part of the effort, the aviation
agency also applies herbicides to overgrown vegetation.

"It’s a scorched earth policy, as far as I can tell," said Mattes. "Is what
they are proposing something they have done in the past or is it more
extensive?"

The plan, according to Mattes, is based on a set of designs of aircraft that
use the air field, including new aircraft which command a larger area to
land and take off. Mattes said if the type of aircraft considered by
Massport are dramatically altered, there is a need to change the "basic
model" and amount of vegetation that is removed.

"The question is (whether) they have changed the model," said Mattes.

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