Nagog Hill
Nagog Hill is a large conservation area on the east side of Nagog Hill Rd., between it and Nagog Pond. It has 177 acres of land, including two meadows, one smaller and the other very large.
Area A - The Large Meadow
One of the beautiful features of Nagog Hill is a large meadow, which extends over 1000 feet from Nagog Hill Road. The area along the road abuts Hybid Farm, which had a fence around it and used it as a horse pasture. The fence was removed in 2022, but it left behind a ring of invasive plants.
There used to be paths through the rear part of the meadow, worn down by horse riders, but with the closing of Hybid Farm in 2021 those have disappeared.
There are remnants of old farm equipment along the south border of the meadow, in the north east portion (farthest from the road).
The Meadow
The meadow itself has well entrenched invasive plants, mostly Multiflora Rose and Asian Bittersweet. The town arranges for the meadow to be mowed every year, although the quality of mowing (how close they come to obstacles and the edges of the meadow) varies greatly. The bush-hogs used for mowing will avoid any fallen branches (larger than 2") and trees, so it is important to clear the meadow of these whenever found.
There are numerous rocks in the meadow which the mower avoids. These need an occasional visit after mowing with clipper/loppers to cut the vegetation growing up around them (esp. MF Rose and Asian Bittersweet!)
This meadow had a very good clearing of the edges in fall 2024.
The Tree Clusters
There are numerous tree clusters in the meadow where rocks prevented mowing. These tend to host large numbers of invasive plants as well: Japanese Barberry, Winged Euonymus, Bush Honeysuckle, as well as the pervasive MF Rose and Asian Bittersweet.
These were all worked in 2022, and again in fall 2024.
Area B - The Small Meadow
Complementing the large meadow is a smaller one. This one is unusual as it has a rock wall going through the middle of the meadow, along the yellow trail. As there is no overgrowth, this rock wall needs continuous clearing. As in the large meadow, there are multiple tree clusters, on both sides of the rock wall.
This meadow is cleared to the rock walls on the north/south sides. The eastern side has a swampy wooded area as the border.
The rock wall was cleared in the late 2010s, and again in 2024.
The meadow was cleared of fallen trees/branches in fall 2020, and again in fall 2024.