At a meeting of the Conservation Commission at the Town of Sudbury DPW on Monday evening, members discussed an initiative to identify and protect cold water streams in town that may be home to native brook trout.

Commission Chair John Sklenak explained that what began as an idea for an Eagle Scout project several years ago has now turned into a more significant scientific endeavor involving the Sudbury Valley Trustees and the conservation group Trout Unlimited. 

Two brooks in town are of particular interest – Trout Brook, where trout were already known to live, and Cranberry Brook.

Bruce Osterling, who was at the meeting to represent the Sudbury Valley Trustees, said that the next step in securing further protection for the streams would be an audit of the trout population there, which would be performed by biologists from the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife. The procedure would involve briefly shocking the small fish with a carefully calibrated level of electricity so that they could be collected, inspected, and counted.

“Brook trout are the proverbial canary in the mine – they’re the most sensitive of all trout,” explained Garry Crago of Trout Unlimited, who was also as the meeting. “We’re trying to find these small streams that have native populations still there and protect and restore them. When you get Mass. Fish and Game in with a crew, it is really significant.”

If the Sudbury brooks were found to have brook trout, said Crago, they would contain the closest populations to Boston.

Conservation Coordinator Debbie Dineen said that no special permits would be needed for the planned research, since there would be no lasting impact to the streams. However, she asked whether the shocking treatment would impact any other wildlife, such as the wood turtle, which is known to live in the affected areas. Osterling and Crago assured the Commission that there would be no effect on other species, and even the trout would only be stunned for about 30 seconds.

The Commission ultimately expressed unanimous support for the research. If the streams are found to contain brook trout, restoration efforts will include removing abandoned beaver dams and overgrown vegetation from the stream banks, both of which can raise the temperature of the water and endanger the trout.

Next up on the Commission’s agenda was the continuation of a hearing about storm water management for a home construction project planned at 28 Paddock Way, owned by Lynne Sullivan.

Abutters at 30 Paddock Way had previously expressed strong concern about flooding to their property from runoff and expect the new construction to improve the situation.

At the meeting, Sullivan’s engineer, Tom DiPersio, proposed minor modifications to the home and driveway design to lessen the risk of flooding, particularly in the event of large storms. However, engineer Fred King, who has been reviewing the plans on behalf of the abutters, asserted that detailed calculations to support the recommendations – especially regarding what size of pipe would be best to drain water away from the driveway – are still lacking. For example, he said, it is unknown how much runoff would be diverted to the wetlands that surround the two properties.

“This has already been the most review of a drainage system for a single family home ever,” concluded Dineen. “But I think if this gets approved without the concrete evidence, we’re just going to go to appeal.”

The Commission agreed to hold a special meeting on May 23 to finalize their ruling once the requested calculations are available.

As a final order of business, the Commission also approved the construction of a new septic system at 258 Morse Road, which was unopposed.

The next regular session of the Conservation Commission will be held on June 6.