Arlington panel backs Hills Pond study, OKs Thorndyke enforcement order

Conservation · Meeting of August 20, 2026

Arlington Conservation Commission backs Hills Pond fish study, cites a flooded Thorndyke Street foundation. Volunteer researcher Laura Kiesel of Save Arlington Wildlife told the commission Hills Pond's largemouth bass average just 10.8 inches and under a pound, versus a state average topping 15 inches and two pounds, and that the pond draws roughly 142 fishing catches per acre, far more than comparable ponds. Commissioners voted 6-0 to back her fall plan for DNA water sampling, camera trapping and a magnet-fishing cleanup.

"It does feel like there's a stunted fishery, a bottlenecked fishery," Kiesel said. Separately, the commission voted 6-0 to approve an enforcement order against 103 Thorndyke Street after a foundation hole repeatedly filled with groundwater; owner Francis Sun must report back September 17. Chair Chuck Tironi told Sun he had "a responsibility to keep that cellar hole dry." The commission also added $250 toward an $800 memorial tree for former chair Nathaniel Stevens.

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Source: the Conservation meeting of August 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.