Littleton Conservation Commission Closes Long Lake Public Hearing, Backs Town-Owned Docks

PEPPERELL -- March 24, 2026, Littleton Conservation Commission closes Long Lake public hearing and advances two dredging enforcement orders at a three-hour session. The commission voted unanimously to close a continued public hearing on future land use of town-owned parcel U12-14-0 on Long Lake, after a non-binding straw poll of commissioners showed broad support for town-owned docks and limited kayak rack storage but no agreement on private mooring licenses or how many docks to install. Select Board Chair Karen Morrison, participating in an advisory role, cautioned that the town is "much more in a maintenance of service mode than expansion" and that a CPC request for six docks "would really strain credibility." Commissioner Chase Carabag, who described 20 years of sediment remediation experience, pushed for sonar-based bathymetric surveys and sediment core sampling at 8 Blood Road and at 2 and 6 Blood Road, where MassDEP has directed the commission to obtain a third-party peer review of unpermitted dredging that may have exceeded the state's 99 cubic yard water quality certification threshold. Both enforcement order discussions were continued to April 7 following a site walk scheduled for March 28. The commission also unanimously approved a three-to-one native tree replacement plan at 359 King Street, covering 43 trees removed without authorization, with a three-year monitoring period and a 30 percent acceptable loss threshold.