Meeting called to order at 7:40pm.

The meeting began with a discussion of some tree removal work around the two towers. Many trees have been removed from around the towers and the thought is that this is the first step that has to be done to take the towers down. A call is going to be made to the Essex County Parks Dept. to determine what the tree removal work is for.

The first agenda item was to officially elect the executive officers for 2006.
Ken Bogert was elected president(second year).
Theresa Trapp was elected treasurer(second year).

The vice-president and secretary positions are currently open positions looking to be filled. Any nominations or volunteers for these positions would be welcomed.
In the interim, Geordie Smith will act as vice-president.
In the interim, Brian Glennon will act as secretary.

The next agenda item was reviewing the priority objectives for 2006. There were many accomplishments in 2005 and the upcoming year appears that it will be as busy, if not busier for the conservancy.

The main objectives of 2006 are as follows:

1. Identify and secure access points on the west side of the reservation before development begins. As of now, there are no definite access points on the west side of the reservation. This is a major issue for all those individuals who enter the Hilltop from the west.
2. Continue trail building and trail marking to have a user friendly trail system. Along with trail work comes debris/trash removal. With decades of neglect on the Hilltop, clean up is an on going chore of the conservancy. Major strides have been made in debris removal to date. Future clean up days will be scheduled and publicized to further help our cause.
3. Officially “kick off” and publicize the meadow restoration project. The conservancy is waiting for the official approval from the county so we can move forward and promote this wonderful project.

The last agenda item for the evening was a presentation from several William Paterson students on their study of “wetland feasibility” on the Hilltop. The professor of the class explained the course study and how each student had a particular job in the study. The wetland area studied is on the southern-west side of the Hilltop. The students broke down the study into six categories. They included the history of the Hilltop, geology, land use issues, types of soils, biology and laws pertaining to wetland area’s. The group summarized that this area is consistent of a wetland. This is a saturated soil wetland(no visible water, but can be flooded over). The overall opinion of the students would not be to enhance the wetland, but rather remove the foreign invasive species and let nature take it’s course. This was a very thorough study and the conservancy would like to thank the students and their professor for taking the time to present their findings to our group.

Dues for 2006 are now being accepted. $20/individual or $35/family. Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

Minutes prepared by Secretary: Brian Glennon