Abutters of a Peterborough-owned field being considered for cattle grazing are invited to the Peterborough Select Board’s June 5 meeting to comment.
A Conservation Commission site walk took place on Tuesday, Selectwoman Barbara Miller said Wednesday.
Miller said she attended the Conservation Commission site walk of the 43-acre field on Tuesday.
The field includes two lots. The lot on the far end is 20 acres and abuts Route 101. The lot being considered for grazing is 23 acres, is off Cheney Avenue with Old Street Road and Orchard Hill Road on either side and has the Cranberry Meadow Trail running through it. The field is surrounded by houses on Cheney, Old Street and Orchard Hill. Miller said,
“What we are really looking for is the property’s boundaries, the wetlands, sink holes, topography and just the field’s general hydrology,” Miller said. “We wanted to look at what access there would be to the field for cattle and if there are any infrastructure needs.”
Based on the site walk, Miller said, town officials think only about 10 acres of the field could be used for grazing.
Stan Fry of Peterborough came before the Select Board May 1 and asked if he could lease the field for the purpose of grazing up to a dozen of his beef cattle. During the meeting the possibility of a 15-year lease was discussed.
Abutters filled the May 15 Select Board meeting to voice their opposition to cattle grazing in the field.
Fry would pay for and erect the fencing for the cattle, Miller said.
“There aren’t going to be cows in people’s backyards that’s for sure,” Miller said. “The question we had was how will the final decision be made.”
Following that meeting the Select Board consulted with town attorney John Ratigan and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests on how to proceed with the request from Fry based on the conservation easement.
Miller said it was abutters of the field who bought the field for $60,000 in 1986 to be conserved by the town in order to save it from possible development.
The conservation easement that resulted names the town Conservation Commission as the managers of the field and includes agriculture, including animal husbandry, as allowable uses of the field.
“We would like to see the agricultural uses and that is built into the uses that this land can be used for,” Miller said.
Miller said the board will likely make a recommendation to the Conservation Commission after the June 5 meeting.
“It is a concern of ours that we would be setting a precedent here,” Miller said, so the board is focused on one question. “How does the public gain if we allow Stan Fry or anyone to use this property?”
Assistant Town Administrator Nicole MacStay said the town is receiving a lot of public comment regarding the proposed cattle grazing. Residents who would like to make comments before the meeting are invited to call, email or send letters to the town, she said.