The Environmental Committee of the POA met on October 7, 2015. Below is an outline of the minutes.
The Greenery
Leaf collection will begin soon and continue for four weeks. An e-blast will ask residents not to blow leaves into the street.
Wildlife Mapping
River otters have been seen near The Haulover and Wood Duck Rd. It was misreported that one of the piebald deer had died. The experts are not sure it’s a piebald, but it was an eight point buck.
Turtle Patrol
There was a record 75 nests. Unfortunately, eight nests were over washed and lost to the high tides.
Deer Management
The September deer survey was completed. It was estimated that there are 450 deer on the island.
Wild Things
Over 40 people have shown interest in starting a birding group.
Lake House Wild Flower Field
The Greenery has submitted a conceptual design and cost estimate.
Submitted by Jane Marvin
The quoting of an estimated number of deer is a new practice and one sure to cause controversy. Many individuals experienced in deer management, I believe, will strongly disagree with this number. The only objective number we have on Seabrook is the number of deer counted in the drive around survey. That number is usually between 60 and 90. The extrapolation to 450 is subjective and should be qualified as such. I believe it uses a model which treats marshland the same as woodland.
The POA needs to do more road blowing. The leafs in the street fall in the street and are not cleared away by the POA. Also, having no vegetation on the curbs also causes dirt and sand to wash into the streets and, consequently into the streetdrains which cause the drains to stop up. The islands idea of no grass on the right-of-ways to save water causes a problem for the drains. Most states require developers to use erosion control to prevent runoff of sediment into drains and streams. A better idea would be to use some sort of vegetation to hold dirt and that would not require cutting or watering. We also lose road area by not clearing away the sediment and leaves. This also is expensive because it causes the road paving to break up. Along Baywood by my house, I constantly am cleaning up the street on the other side of my house where no one takes care of POA Property and around the golf course entrances and drains. Why is the POA not blowing the roads off more? I would like these problems to be addressed and erosion control to be addressed.