February 25, 2026 Planning Board Special Meeting - WEHI Transcript

15 of 68 sheets Page 57 to 60 of 154 03/20/2026 06:14:03 AM 57 Now, here's the forest subset that he1 observed. Remember he said he observed 20 species and2 of those 20 there were 7 forest species. And can you3 just hone in a little bit on that, just to get a sense4 of it. The actual squares, I'm sorry. Oh, I did that.5 There's 7 species that are forest species. Now, that's6 very important for his testimony, because he testifies7 later -- did I do that or did you. Thank you. Okay.8 So 7 forest species observed, and that's important,9 because you're in a suburban area, so the question might10 arise, well, he's observing 20 bird species, big deal,11 they're all over the place, right. This is why this12 slide is important. Seven of those were forest species.13 He wasn't only looking at species everyone sees in their14 backyard. He's looking at those who live in this15 community but are forest species. They're only going to16 live in the forest or neighboring forest, you know, a17 half mile down there is one park. So we go further.18 Now, he also said there were two others that19 likely will occur based on the habitat. He didn't20 happen to see them on those occasions.21 Now, he said, based on what he observed in22 the time he had allotted to it, it is very likely that23 more than 100 species of birds inhabit this forest. He24 didn't see all of them because birds are migratory.25 58 Sometimes you have to see them at night, sometimes1 different seasons. He said it is more than likely that2 there's more than 100 species of birds. Now, he's3 probably the leading expert in the state on this4 subject. And, again, you heard nobody testify this is5 wrong.6 Now, what he says here and he testified,7 "Interior species are likely to decline or disappear,8 and edge/open habit species are likely to increase or9 appear newly." He means after construction. Build this10 and your species interchange.11 Now, he said some species are not sensitive12 to forest size, others are. Now, a pocket forest in the13 city might have certain number of species. Some species14 require larger areas. You know, all animals actually15 that forage, for example, or hunt require certain amount16 of space. Deer, for example, usually require half a17 mile square per family. Human farming societies require18 certain number of acres per family unit. All species19 require a certain amount of territory if

e. Deer, for example, usually require half a17 mile square per family. Human farming societies require18 certain number of acres per family unit. All species19 require a certain amount of territory if they're20 foraging or hunting. We don't because we industrialize.21 We make our food but in a state of nature, a certain22 amount of space is needed for species to survive. Some23 are not sensitive, like the Eastern Wood Peewee, some24 are, like the Wood Thrush are, he says.25 59 Now, here's what he says about a Wood Thrush1 as one example. An area of forest as it decreases, it2 decreases the likelihood of occupancy by the Wood Thrush3 in the forest. So when you go down from 5 acres -- from4 58 acres to approximately 5, remember we said there are5 9 acres of core left, but they're divided into two6 pieces. So it's about 4 to 5 acres in each piece. So7 he's saying, when you go down from 58 acres of core to 58 acres of what's left, the Wood Thrush likelihood of9 occupancy in this forest declines by 30 percent or more.10 And he says bluntly, when you do this the likelihood11 these species remain changes. And of course this12 applies to all species, he's a bird -- an ornithologist,13 he's speaking of birds.14 Here he does the same analysis for four15 other -- for three other species in addition to the Wood16 Thrush, the Red-Eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanger and Ovenbird17 and says in each case has we have similar interferences18 and their likelihood of occupancy in the core forest19 that are left once we decline and decrease the forest.20 And so this is an example of the ecological impact in a21 very direct way on this property.22 Now, you'll see later -- well, bear with me23 one moment. You'll see in Dr. Hasse's graphs that there24 is connectivity corridors and that's a fundamental part25 60 of maintaining ecology. Much of our wildlife requires1 connectivity. I can tell you in Princeton we worked on2 a project to keep a ring of forests around the exterior3 of the town to prevent loss of connectivity. Because as4 you break forests up you interfere with migration of5 animals. You interfere with genetic adversity and you6 interfere with the area you need to live. And so7 connectivity is vital. So you'll see when we get to Dr.8 Hasse's document, that this forest is smack in the9 middle of a connectivity corridor. And so when you10 eliminate this and one or two others, you've

tivity is vital. So you'll see when we get to Dr.8 Hasse's document, that this forest is smack in the9 middle of a connectivity corridor. And so when you10 eliminate this and one or two others, you've broken up11 the connectivity that's necessary for the ecological12 system.13 He also says here that: Invasive and14 common species --" well, "Common and exotic invasive15 will increase in occurrence and abundance as forest16 patch size declines." And so if you could just hone in17 on the graph itself. Thank you. Let's do that one18 first. It's a little more, so we see the bottom. The19 bottom vector. Thank you.20 The European Starling. So you see it's21 probability of occurrence on the left-hand vector. Then22 you see it declining drastically as the forest size23 declines. It's very clear. And the same applies to the24 American Robin. So forest species will decline,25