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Featured in this issue:

Clay Pit Pond Deforestation Damages Wetland

In September 2020, several Belmont residents removed more than 80 trees and shrubs from the south side of Clay Pit Pond. In an unauthorized action taken ostensibly to “enhance” the view of the pond, individuals visited the site on at least three occasions that month, cutting down 50-foot-tall trees, shrubs, vines, and other vegetation. Read more.

Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways

A 2017 consent order from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave Belmont five years to stop underground sewage from leaking into our waterways. We made a lot of progress in 2020, but there could be a long way to go before all our outlets run clean. Read more.

Time to Fix the Town’s Historic Clock

In Belmont, in 1889, Town Meeting voted “that the selectmen be authorized to place a clock in the new Unitarian Church to be erected this year and the sum of $500 be appropriated for the same.” The clock still sits in the tower of that church. Unfortunately, the clock hasn’t functioned since 2006. Read more.

Four Projects Proposed for CPA Funds

Belmont’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has recommended the following projects to Town Meeting for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding in FY2022. Read more.

Mass Central Rail Trail Comes Closer

When completed, the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) will run from North Point Park in Cambridge to downtown Northampton, a distance of 104 miles, following the abandoned right of way (ROW) of the former Mass Central Railroad. Read more.

The Roadmap Climate and Clean Energy Law

The Massachusetts state legislature has passed An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (the Roadmap). The new law puts the Commonwealth on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 (the IPCC report standard) and specifies enforceable targets at five-year intervals. Read more.

Restoration Projects Approved for Lone Tree Hill

The Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill approved plans and funding for three 2021 forest restoration and meadow management projects for Lone Tree Hill at a March 3 meeting. Read more.

Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Asian Bittersweet

Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), also known as Oriental bittersweet, is one of the most beautiful and problematic invasive plant species in our area. Read more.

Letters to the Editor

Readers write about fuel tanks and electric vehicles. Read more.

Belmont Roots

Virtual and live paddling and fish counts. Read more.