Stockbridge Bowl Commission Moves to Formalize Oversight of Dam and Dredging Projects

LENOX — May 14, 2026 — Stockbridge Bowl Stewardship Commission moves to seek Select Board backing for project oversight role. At its May 14 meeting, the commission voted to accept its April 23 minutes and spent extended time debating how to obtain regular updates on the town's dam repair and lake dredging restoration projects, which members said have proceeded largely without commission input. Member Phil Cedar was assigned to draft a letter to the Select Board requesting that information sources on both projects be directed to brief the commission on a regular basis, with the draft due by the end of the following week and the item placed on the next meeting's agenda. Commission member Lewis Korman briefed the body on ongoing work by consultant Ben Burpee and town staff Charlie Kenney to develop a statewide cyanobacteria bloom response protocol in collaboration with state DEP — a protocol that could allow partial rather than full lake closure in the event of a surface bloom. The commission's aquatic harvester permit is also in dispute with NHESP, which has interpreted a "one pass" provision as covering the entire season rather than each individual run, a reading the chair called effectively meaningless given the harvester's eight-foot operating width against nearly 10 permitted acres. The lake management plan, updated but awaiting a final clean draft from an absent member, is targeted for presentation to the Select Board within two to three weeks.