November 13, 2024 Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

81 1 could use general knowledge. 2 Q Is it fair to say that as compared to you, 3 it’s the forester who would have the expertise to 4 address the issue of damage caused be creating new edge 5 in the interior of the forest? 6 A I don’t know that a forester would have any more 7 knowledge of that compared to an environmental 8 scientist, but, they would have look at it more often, 9 certainly. 10 Q But, you agree you don’t have that expertise 11 yourself. 12 A I haven’t looked at it, so I can’t answer the 13 question because I haven’t looked specifically to give 14 you that answer. I would understand the studies, I 15 would be able to read the analysis and certainly report 16 on it, but I didn’t in this case. 17 Q All right. So, in any event, you’re not able 18 to answer the question because you didn’t do that 19 analysis. 20 A Correct. 21 Q Okay, thank you. Now, I just want to go back 22 for one moment. You referred to your academic work 23 taking some courses in forestry or teaching some 24 students and you did report. I forgot what year you 25 graduated in your masters program, I’m sorry. 82 1 A My undergraduate was 1980, my graduate was ‘82. 2 Q Okay, thank you. Now, in your report, you 3 make a statement -- well, let’s go back. It was mostly 4 in answer to questions from the public that you made 5 the following statement, as I recall. You compared the 6 photographs for this forest going back a certain number 7 of years and you indicated there’s been no change in 8 the tree canopy in that span of time. Do you recall 9 those general answers? 10 A Generally, yes. They go to the slides that were 11 up here. 12 Q And then went back I think about 30 years 13 those slides, right? 14 A I don’t believe that far. Twenty-two years. 15 Q Now, in this 22 year period you testified 16 that you did not observe any death of -- death, 17 d-e-a-t-h, death of tree canopies of any substance in 18 the different photographs that we saw, is that correct? 19 A What I testified to is based on my general 20 observations, I don’t see any major impact. But, 21 that’s what I testified to not specifically. And as I 22 pointed out in this testimony of these three particular 23 images, this is just meant to show an overview of the 24 site. Had I gone back further and I do have -- there 25 is an old photograph, it’s really not very good, very 83 1 hard to see, from 1985 when the entire

is is just meant to show an overview of the 24 site. Had I gone back further and I do have -- there 25 is an old photograph, it’s really not very good, very 83 1 hard to see, from 1985 when the entire area here was 2 wooded. 3 It would have been continuous woodlands. 4 Q No, we understand -- 5 A But, so the point is the forest has changed but 6 the change here is you can see, well, not well, I’m 7 afraid, is limited and that’s all I was trying to use 8 these images to show. 9 Q So, there’s been, essentially in this 22 year 10 period and, perhaps, even going back further, this 11 stretch of forest is essentially stable, is that fair 12 to say? 13 A Stagnant would be a better word. 14 Q Stagnant. In other words, this level of tree 15 density, the tree canopy, all of that is essentially 16 the same over this period of time, is that right? 17 A It is a stagnant forest, yes. That’s a good way 18 to put it. 19 Q My question is a little bit different. 20 Essentially, you mean that the tree canopy, the extent 21 of woodlands, the density of tree, et cetera, is all 22 essentially the same throughout this 22-year period. 23 A Correct, it’s stagnant. 24 Q Thank you. 25 A It’s not evolving as it should. 84 1 Q Well that’s, perhaps, another issue, I simply 2 wanted to ask that limited question right now. Now, in 3 your report you make a statement at Page 2, the forest 4 consists primarily of large trees. The initial study 5 showed no trees under four inches in diameter within 6 the study plot. Would you just take us to the slide 7 that shows the study plot, I want to just identify 8 that. 9 A There you go. 10 Q It’s not easy to see, but there are -- 11 A I know, I -- oh, there you go. 12 Q That’s better, thank you, perfect. Thank 13 you. In that slide, roughly in the center and a little 14 bit, well, it looks like there’s a kind of fold down 15 the center of the picture and on both sides of the fold 16 there are some circles, you see that? 17 A Are you talking about this line here? 18 Q Yeah. It looks like a fold line, from an old 19 document. 20 A Okay. 21 Q And there are circle lines on both sides of 22 it. 23 A Correct. 24 Q Are those the study sites? 25 A Those are study plots, yes.