Wetlands panel approves five-year Waveny pond tree removal permit
Inland Wetlands · Meeting of April 20, 2026
New Canaan wetlands panel approves five-year permit for Waveny Park pond restoration. The Inland Wetlands Commission voted unanimously to let the Waveny Park Conservancy remove roughly 50 Norway maple trees around Anderson Pond and replant the area with 4,445 native trees, shrubs and perennials, following its 2019 restoration that partly failed under foot traffic and drought. Conservancy board member Leslie Cameron said Norway maples "out-compete everything," while Commissioner Redden questioned whether cutting a few dozen trees would matter given how widespread the species is on the property.
Wetlands Director Kathleen Holland attached special conditions requiring hand-tool-only removal, flush-cutting instead of stump grubbing, and licensed applicators for herbicide treatment of cut stumps, calling the chemical question "binary in a way." Commissioners also reelected Angela Jameson as chair and Sandy Redden as secretary for the coming year.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 978 words
Source: the Inland Wetlands meeting of April 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — April 20, 2026 — The Inland Wetlands Commission voted unanimously Monday to approve a five-year permit letting the Waveny Park Conservancy remove roughly 50 Norway maple trees around Anderson Pond and replant the area with more than 4,000 native trees, shrubs and perennials.
The vote came after nearly two hours of presentation and debate over how aggressively to treat Norway maples, a widely planted but state-flagged invasive species that commissioners said chokes out native undergrowth. The commission also reelected Chair Angela Jameson and Secretary Sandy Redden for the coming year during its annual organizational meeting, run by First Selectman Carlson.
The Full Story
First Selectman Carlson opened the meeting by presiding over the commission's annual officer elections, a tradition she said she enjoys despite watching commission meetings remotely the rest of the year. Commissioners renominated Jameson as chair and Redden as secretary; both were reelected without opposition, with each customarily declining to cast a vote for themselves. Carlson also welcomed newly appointed Commissioner Tom Collingham, who was seated as an alternate for absent Commissioner Beth Brunali. Commissioners Dan Stuponic and Adam Ramirez were also absent.
The commission then took up application 26-9 for 266 Michigan Road, involving tree removal and reconstruction of two footbridges and a gazebo near wetlands on Second Taxing District of Norwalk property. Commissioners scheduled a site visit for May 6 at 7:30 a.m. before the application returns for a full hearing at the commission's May 18 meeting.
The bulk of the meeting was devoted to a public hearing on application IW-25-53, a request from the Waveny Park Conservancy to remove Norway maple trees and invasive shrubs from roughly an acre around Anderson Pond at 677 South Avenue and replant the area with native species. Tiger Mann, the town's director of public works, introduced the applicant team: Michelle Kendon, executive director of the conservancy; Leslie Cameron, a conservancy board member and landscape designer; and Elelliana, a landscape designer with William Kenny Associates, who joined remotely.
Cameron and Kendon told the commission that Anderson Pond was last dredged and replanted around 2019, but many of the original native plantings failed to establish because of foot traffic, deer and rabbit browsing, and drought. The new plan calls for removing invasive Norway maples and privet, installing defined footpaths and three stepping-stone access points to steer visitors away from replanted areas, and adding roughly 10 canopy and understory trees, more than 129 shrubs and thousands of perennials and ground covers, a total the applicants put at 4,445 plants.
Commissioner Redden pushed back on labeling Norway maples invasive, noting the trees blanket the surrounding forest and that removing 50 near the pond would not meaningfully reduce their numbers. Cameron and Kendon countered that the Connecticut invasive plant working group ranks Norway maples among the most damaging non-native species because their dense, early-leafing canopy prevents native trees and understory plants from establishing, and that removal near wetlands and streams is considered a priority intervention. Jameson asked the applicants to rate the tree's severity on a one-to-10 invasiveness scale; the response placed it "up there in the 10 range."
Commissioners also questioned plans to hand-paint cut stumps with an herbicide combination of glyphosate and triclopyr to prevent regrowth. Mann said the work would be done by licensed pesticide applicators on the town's park staff, with no grubbing or stump removal and no heavy equipment entering the wetlands. Kathleen Holland, the town's wetlands director, recommended special permit conditions requiring hand-tool-only removal, flush-cutting instead of stump removal, and a post-removal site inspection by the tree warden, wetlands agent and contractor.
"I don't know that I call them invasive because that's an argument, right? People still plant them. They're hardwood trees and the entire property is covered with them." — Commissioner Redden
"They do out-compete everything, to the point that eventually we would have nothing but Norway maples if we didn't address it." — Leslie Cameron, Waveny Park Conservancy board member and landscape designer
"It seems to me, if you're going to use it, you use it. It's binary in a way." — Kathleen Holland, wetlands director, on the proposed herbicide treatment
After closing the public hearing on a motion by Commissioner Philip Williams, commissioners deliberated briefly before approving the application unanimously with Holland's special conditions attached, granting a five-year permit rather than the 10-year term staff said is sometimes offered for phased projects of this scale.
Why It Matters
The approval clears the way for the Waveny Park Conservancy to begin removing Norway maples this spring, ahead of a first round of native plantings expected in late May and June. The conservancy says the work is meant to correct the partial failure of its 2019 pond restoration, which struggled under foot traffic and drought. Commissioners' skepticism about labeling a widely planted tree "invasive" reflects a recurring tension the panel faces when balancing mature tree canopy against wetland habitat health. The five-year permit means the conservancy must complete the bulk of the work by 2031 or return to the commission for an extension, particularly for long-term maintenance and replanting.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Reelection of Angela Jameson as chair Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Reelection of Sandy Redden as secretary Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approval of the April 20, 2026 meeting agenda Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approval of the March 16, 2026 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously - Action: Site visit for application 26-9 (266 Michigan Road) — Scheduled for May 6, 2026, 7:30 a.m. - Vote: Motion to close the public hearing on application IW-25-53 Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Approval of application IW-25-53 (Waveny Park Anderson Pond tree removal and restoration) with special conditions Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Inland Wetlands Commission meeting, April 20, 2026