A fight over turtle protections and access to Groton-Dunstable Youth Baseball League's fields spilled into a Conservation Commission hearing this week, with league and Park Commission leaders pressing for relief from a road-closure order.

GROTON — Town boards and youth sports organizers spent the week wrangling over field access, while the Select Board reported beach-area upgrades tied to the town's recreation facilities.

TOWN

At the July 13 Select Board meeting, member Peter reported that the Beach Committee, the Department of Public Works and the Groton Police Department had met to make "enhancements to parking and some things over at Sargisson Beach." He said the town is adding marked parking spots in the coming weeks, has posted new signage barring campfires and fires on the beach to mitigate fire risk, and expects to remove some grills from the site. Two garbage barrels and a recycling barrel have also been added at Sargisson Beach, according to the report.

YOUTH LEAGUES

At the July 14 Conservation Commission meeting, Groton-Dunstable Youth Baseball League President Josh Pollock told the commission the closure of the Cow Pond Access Road — ordered under a 2009 wetlands determination to protect turtles — has caused "access issues at the fields, sanitation and operations issues, and safety issues," affecting families from Groton, Dunstable and other towns, including grandparents and people with accessibility needs, as well as maintenance and dumpster access.

Park Commission representative Jack Petropoulos told the commission a week-long turtle-monitoring pilot — requiring volunteers to walk the road every 20 minutes while it's open — proved "impractical" because the town "can't get volunteers to do this." Park Commission Chairman Mary Jennings said the commission voted to support the baseball league's request for a stay and said the Park Commission intends to return to the Conservation Commission in three weeks with a proposal for a temporary connecting road between the soccer and baseball parking lots. Commission member John said the Department of Public Works estimated such a project would take "less than a two-week" build once scoped.

COMMUNITY

The town's recreation page lists ongoing adult pickup games, including Men's Pickup Softball on Sundays and Men's Pickup Baseball on Wednesdays in Groton, with Jon Strauss listed as the contact.

Compiled from team and league reports, reader submissions, and local coverage.