AMHERST — Making trails wider to reduce the risk of poison ivy and ticks, creating a new trail to the north of the summit and removing white pines that obscure views to the west are among improvements made at Mount Pollux Conservation Area this year.
Two years after municipal staff and a group of residents discussed ways to ensure the 23.61-acre site off South East Street remains an attractive place to visit, Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said conservation staff is following the August 2016 land management plan adopted by the Conservation Commission and using best judgment.
“It’s always a balancing act between human uses and maintaining for the other species that use it,” Ziomek said.
For artist Lorna Ritz, though, it doesn’t appear the site is getting the attention it deserves, and that the management plan needs to be amended so visitors aren’t confined to trails. She describes Mount Pollux as a “mess,” with vines strangling apple trees and overgrown sumac.
“Hay is high, poison ivy rampant, vines have killed trees, and the agreement that the town would mow after July 31st has not been honored,” Ritz said.
Ziomek, though, said the town developed a “science-based plan” for Mount Pollux, as it will for other conservation sites, focused on the natural resources of each parcel, from soil and vegetation, as well as how visitors use the locations.
The management plan calls for a “single seasonal (late fall) mowing” only to be done “after grassland bird ground nesting activity has ended, box turtle roaming activity has slowed or ceased and the principal periods of blooming of native plants need to support pollinator species have passed.”
In this document, the commission also advised against removing staghorn sumac and poison ivy.
Ziomek said the trails are essentially maintained 365 days a year and kept mowed from March through November. The town took extra care in advance of July 4, knowing the popularity of Mount Pollux to view the Independence Day fireworks.
In an update sent by email to the Friends group this week, member Thomas Johnson complimented the town on controlling the ivy infestation and the seeming reduction in ticks.
“The town has done a great job of mowing the 6-10 foot wide field trails over the summer,” Johnson wrote in the message.
The Friends is also interested in speaking to the Conservation Commission about a memorandum of understanding it developed that calls for multiple mowings, and also wants information from the Conservation Department on how the land management plan worked in its first year.
On Sunday afternoon, volunteers will be painting the temporary wooden sign kiosk at the parking area, which Ziomek said will be replaced by a permanent kiosk in 2018, and do a general cleanup of debris.
The Friends group will also be putting together a 2018 Friends of Mt. Pollux wall calendar to raise money that could be used for improvements.
For the future of Mount Pollux, Ziomek said the town is focused on two large maple trees at its summit, with the possibility that one of the two, which is in decline, may need to be removed if deemed a hazard.
Ziomek said that tree, struck by lightning in the past, will be assessed and a determination will be made on whether its life can be extended.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.