Conservation Commission Unanimously Approves Turtle Barrier Repairs at Campanelli Office Park

BOXBOROUGH — February 18, 2026 — Boxborough Conservation Commission clears turtle barrier repairs at Campanelli office park before April deadline. The commission voted unanimously at its February 18 meeting to authorize inspection and maintenance of approximately 14,000 linear feet of concrete turtle barriers, three wildlife tunnels, and two box culverts at the Park at Beaver Brook on Beaver Brook Road, a system originally installed in 2001 and 2002 to protect rare Blanding's turtles. John Rockwood of EcoTec, Inc., presenting for property owner Campanelli Companies, said 20 years of soil accumulation have in places created "a ramp" where barriers no longer stop turtles from reaching the roadway, and that the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program requires the work finished by mid-April. Proposed work includes trenching along parking-lot curb edges to restore 10 to 12 inches of barrier clearance, buckthorn removal at both box culverts, and vegetation clearing near tunnel openings, all hand labor under continuous supervision. Third-party monitor Oxbow Associates will conduct roadway turtle surveys twice weekly and camera monitoring at all five openings through the nesting season. Also at the meeting, Associate Town Planner Ian Gilson announced the commission had been awarded a SuAsCo CISMA grant for invasive species removal at Patch Hill, with Oxbow Associates set to begin work in late May under a contract recommended by town counsel.