Pepperell Conservation Commission Approves Phragmites Treatment at Boynton Street Peatland

PEPPERELL -- August 5, 2025, Pepperell Conservation Commission unanimously approved a five-year phragmites control plan for a peatland off Boynton Street at its August 5 meeting. The commission voted to issue an order of conditions authorizing Ruby Environmental Services to apply a wetlands-approved foliar herbicide annually and then cut and leave the dead stalks in place, with the work expected to span up to five years. Conservation Agent Paula, who shepherded the application through sign-offs from state fisheries and wildlife authorities, the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, and the town's Department of Public Works, told the commission the sole remaining hurdle is MassDEP's acknowledgment of a refiled Form 3, the agency last week asked the town to switch forms after the original paperwork had already been submitted. Commissioner Pat praised the project, citing a comparable phragmites removal at Kampoosa Bog in Berkshire County as precedent, but flagged concern that dense mats of cut phragmites left on site could smother native plants including cranberries, rhodora, and sundew that persist in the affected area. The commission's next meeting is August 19.