Summer 2019 Nantucket Land Council Newsletter

2019 SUMMER NEWS

Nantucket Land Council PLANNING

•

PROTECTING

•

PRESERVING

INSIDE this ISSUE NLC Welcomes RJ Turcotte as Resource Ecologist —pg. 2 NLC Wins Standing in Surfside Crossing Appeal—pg. 2 NLC Annual Meeting Featuring Guest Speaker Fabien Cousteau—pg. 3 SBPF's Geotube Expansion Denied—pg. 3 River Herring Research Underway—pg. 5 Oyster Farm & Harbor Tours 2019—pg. 7

NLC NEWS

Welcome RJ

Nantucket Land Council PO Box 502, 6 Ash Lane Nantucket, MA 02554 508.228.2818 www.nantucketlandcouncil.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lucy S. Dillon, President Paul A. Bennett, Vice President William Willet, Vice President Howard N. Blitman, Treasurer Neil Marttila, Assistant Treasurer Susan E. Robinson, Clerk Matt Anderson Susan Baer Larry Breakiron William S. Brenizer Karen K. Clark Christine Donelan Joshua Eldridge Robert Friedman Nancy Gillespie Nathanael Greene Charles A. Kilvert III Laurel Ried Langworthy Matthew B. Liddle Peter McCausland Eileen P. McGrath Paul P. Moran Carl H. Sjolund H. Brooks Smith Lars Soderberg David Troast Peter Watrous

HONORARY DIRECTORS William M. Crozier, Jr.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

James W. Sutherland, Ph.D.

STAFF

Emily Molden, Executive Director emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org RJ Turcotte, Resource Ecologist rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org Meg McNeely Browers Development Director meg@nantucketlandcouncil.org Shari Santos, Bookkeeper

OF COUNSEL

Peter R. Fenn & Associates Design by: Gioiosa Design Harvard, MA, www.gioiosadesign.com Printed On Recycled Paper

The Nantucket Land Council is proud to welcome Resource Ecologist RJ Turcotte.

RJ grew up near Worcester, Massachusetts and traveled to Nantucket many times as a Boy Scout. In 2015, RJ graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Marine Biology and has been working on water quality, marsh restoration, and public education in the years since. An avid fisherman and backpacker, RJ is thrilled to join the Nantucket Land Council to protect and preserve such a beautiful place.

Stop by the office at 6 Ash Lane to meet our staff, or email questions and ideas to RJ at rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org.

COMMUNITY NEWS

NLC Wins Standing in Endangered Species Appeal Last October the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) issued a formal Determination to address impacts of the proposed Surfside Crossing 40B development on rare and endangered species. Their Determination acknowledged that the project would result in a “take” of one state listed moth species, but failed to adequately address potential impacts to other species, namely the endangered Northern Long Eared Bat (NLEB). The Nantucket Land Council, along with the Select Board and a group of 13 citizens, appealed the Determination and the project proponents filed a Motion to Dismiss the appeal stating that we did not have standing in the case. After submitting extensive testimony, the presiding officer issued a decision which did in fact grant the NLC standing in the appeal.

The NLC is delighted to have been granted party status by the MA Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. This was a hard won fight. The NLC has been actively working to protect rare and endangered species

habitat on Nantucket for

45 years and this decision

recognizes the NLC’s efforts

and legal right to ensure that

the Island’s rare and endan gered species receive all the

protections afforded by law.

We intend on pursuing these

long established rights—now

solidified by this important A light trap used for sampling moths and a Northern long decision—with regard to the eared bat captured for research conducted by Nantucket

Surfside Crossing proposed Conservation Foundation (photo credit Danielle O'Dell)

project and elsewhere on

the Island.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

NLC Annual Meeting Featuring Guest Speaker Fabien Cousteau The Nantucket Land Council is extremely proud to announce that Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, and founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (OLC), will be the guest speaker at the NLC Annual Meeting August 8, 2019. Fabien founded the OLC to fulfill his dream of creating a vehicle for positive change in the world. The OLC focuses on public awareness, education and special projects. Some of these activities and initiatives include: beach cleanups, dive missions, coral reef restoration, sea turtle restoration programs, and educational resources that can be used for elementary grades to the university level, as well as aquarium programming. The Land Council and Fabien will also be co-hosting a beach clean up on Friday, August 9 and a special eelgrass transplant event on Saturday, August 10. Stay tuned to www.nantucketlandcouncil. org for more details on these events. To learn more about Fabien and the OLC, please visit http://www.fabiencousteauolc. org/about/.

The meeting will be held at the Nantucket Hotel beginning at 5pm, and will be followed by a complimentary cocktail hour.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information on these events, please contact nlc@nantucketlandcouncil.org or call the office at (508) 228-2818.

ADVOCACY NEWS

SBPF’s Geotube Expansion Denied

The existing geotube installation left exposed following a March 2018 nor'easter.

The Nantucket Conservation Commission spent over 8 months reviewing the Sconset Beach Preservation Fund’s proposal to expand the geotubes to almost 4,000 linear feet, four times the length of the present installation. The NLC worked with its coastal engineering consultants from Applied Coastal Research and Engineering to concurrently review and comment on the proposal expressing great concern over the negative impacts that it would have on adjacent and downdrift beaches. As designed, the project would not properly mitigate for the loss of sediment to the system or for significant end scour to the adjacent coastal bank and beach that has resulted from storms over the life of the project. The Commission determined that the proposed expansion would in fact have negative impacts and could not be permitted under the state wetland protection act or the local wetland regulations. We thank the Conservation Commission for all the time and attention they have given this application and for their thorough review and sound judgment.

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The Water Fund The Nantucket Land Council is Nantucket’s leading voice for the protection, investigation, and education of our water resources—including our ponds, harbors, freshwater, ground water and stormwater management via a series of projects including an eelgrass restoration project in Nantucket Harbor and a harbor-wide eelgrass health analysis, in addition to an island-wide herring research project in our great ponds.

We are excited to welcome back to the island Matt Devine, Ph.D. candidate at UMass Amherst, as he continues our Herring research in Nantucket’s great ponds. Our critical eelgrass work will continue with seasonal transplants to help reestablish eelgrass in our harbor; you can help with a donation to our Water Fund and for our members with scuba certification, by volunteering—email rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org to sign up!

Your donation to the Water Fund helps us continue these critical initiatives—join us! Help us keep our water resources clean and healthy. Be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter at www.nantucketlandcouncil.org to stay up to date on the progress of our water related projects and research. We can’t do this critical water work without your help!

THANK YOU TO OUR WATER FUND FOUNDERS

Water Fund

FOUNDERS Circle

Ms. Susan Baer William and Margaret Brenizer Heinz Family Foundation Evan and Cindy Jones The McCausland Foundation Alan & Virginia Nathan

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The Overbrook Foundation Meredyth and Brooks Smith Visco Pumping, Inc Anonymous Anonymous (2)

RESEARCH NEWS

Eelgrass Monitoring Program Just offshore from Monomoy, a tiny young bay scallop dangles by a tenuous thread as hungry crabs snap their claws upward in vain trying to eat the little mollusk. Its thirty bright blue eyes watch on in relief as it gently sways back and forth on a single blade of the mighty Zostera marina, aka eelgrass.

Rivaled only, perhaps, by the vast kelp forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Nantucket Land Council is working to restore Nantucket’s eelgrass meadows. The Town of Nantucket and Alyssa Novak, Coastal Ecologist and Research Assistant Professor at Boston University, are working with NLC staff to monitor last year’s transplants off Monomoy beach. NLC Town of Nantucket Natural Resources Department Stillwater and the town will continue to collect data on nutrient inputs and other Moorings volunteers with Ben Philips, Chloe Coggins, Mack McGrath, Emily Molden and RJ Turcotte. environmental parameters throughout Nantucket Harbor to gain a better understanding of their effects on eelgrass health, and will continue transplanting in restoration areas where eelgrass has successfully survived winter. Please avoid the transplant bed area off second pier, as boating activities can damage this sensitive area. For more information or if you’d like to get involved, please contact RJ Turcotte at rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org.

Summer Tip!

Make sure your landscaper is following Nantucket’s fertilizer laws and Best Management Practices. Here are some easy questions to start the conversation about fertilizer with your landscaper or gardener:

• Are they certified by the Town of Nantucket?

• Are they following the Town of Nantucket’s Best Management Practices for fertilizer application?

• Are they testing your soil to see what nutrients are needed?

• Can they use less fertilizer?

• You can ask them to perform a soil test and explain the results to you.

• Consider planting native plants back into your lawns and gardens 5

River Herring Scientists work rain or shine because nature doesn’t care for your Google calendar plans. Matt Devine, fish biologist and PhD student at UMASS Amherst, is no different. He has once again returned to Nantucket to help NLC determine the status of river herring in Hummock and Long ponds.

Last summer he found juvenile herring, and this spring he found even more. Working with two talented interns, he used a small skiff to drag a net all over Hummock and Long ponds. They found thousands of juvenile herring, as well as adults ready to spawn. Sampling from dusk until the wee hours of the morning, Matt’s valuable data and insights will help NLC and the Town of Nantucket develop more comprehensive plans for the future of these great ponds and their critical fisheries. Stay tuned, there is more work to be done! A special thanks to Bob Williams of the Nantucket Pond Coalition for the use of his boat and trailer.

Matt Devine and his crew loading the purse sein net into the boat for sampling.

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EDUCATION NEWS

Water Quality and Invasive Species Programs This spring, Nantucket New School eighth graders learned how best to preserve Nantucket, hands on. The students were educated both in the classroom and in the field on the delicate balance Nantucketers have with this gorgeous island. First, they learned about the island’s federally designated sole-source aquifer.

Using data collected by the Land Council over the past decade, students learned how the aquifer is affected by them, as well as the massive influx of visitors during the summer months. Using the Land Council’s trusty aquifer model, they saw firsthand what could happen to our only source of freshwater if we were to pollute it. They then piled into the school van for a trip out to Nantucket State Forest, where Executive Director Emily Molden and Resource Ecologist RJ Turcotte showed them how the Land Council keeps tabs on our aquifer.

The field trip ended with a trip to Vesper Lane to join NCF botanist Kelly Omand and NLC Resource Ecologist RJ Turcotte as they physically removed entire truckloads of the highly invasive garlic mustard while learning about invasive species and their impacts in general.

Ocean Stewardship Programs with Sea Saw Executive Director Emily Molden met with all Nantucket Intermediate School 3rd grade students to begin a comprehensive unit on water quality, water pollution, recycling and general environmental protection with Health/PE teacher Galen Gardner.

Thanks to a generous donation from Mr. Ron Zarrella, whose late wife Mrs. Linda Zarrella authored the children’s book Sea Saw, each NIS student was provided with a copy of the book.

Children were encouraged to take the book home and share the important message with their families to keep our beaches and oceans clean!

W we H Ygive 6

The Nantucket Land Council is a critical advocacy organization for Nantucket. I am a member because they do so much to protect the island that we all treasure!

—Mary-Randolph Ballinger

EVENT NEWS

2019 Oyster Farm & Harbor Tours The Nantucket Land Council continues the popular Oyster Farm and Harbor Tours this summer with dates throughout the season.

These tours, in coordination with Shearwater Excursions and Fifth Bend Oyster Farmer Simon Edwardes, begin at 3:30pm at the Town Pier. Attendees will spend two hours boating up to the Head of the Harbor to learn about Oyster Farming and how oysters affect harbor water quality and the overall harbor ecosystem. Limited seats available—buy your tickets today! Tickets are $75 per person and are on sale now at EventBrite.com. Email nlc@nantucketlandcouncil.org with questions or to book a private tour.

2019 Harbor & Oyster Farm Tour Dates Registration at EventBrite.com Please call Meg at 508.228.2818 with questions!

Thursday, July 19 | Monday, August 5 | Monday, August 19

Join us for our Annual End of Season Dinner this Labor Day! Another magical summer is upon us on Nantucket, we invite you to join us at our 18th Annual End of Season Dinner to benefit the Nantucket Land Council on Labor Day Monday, September 2, 2019. Your ticket purchase helps us continue to protect Nantucket’s water and natural resources year-round. Thank you for being an NLC supporter, we can’t do it without you!

Event co-chairs Karen Clark and Mary-Randolph Ballinger are pleased to announce that this year’s dinner will be held at The Westmoor Club to support the NLC’s mission to protect and defend Nantucket’s water and natural resources and celebrate a successful season of environmental advocacy, research and preservation. Email nlc@nantucketlandcouncil.org for more information on this year’s annual dinner.

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2019 SUMMER NEWS

Nantucket Land Council PLANNING

•

PROTECTING

•

PRESERVING

Post Office Box 502 Nantucket, MA 02554 www.nantucketlandcouncil.org

SAVE THE DATES NLC Annual Meeting

Thursday, August 8, 5PM The Nantucket Hotel

NLC Beach Clean Up with Fabien Cousteau’s Ocean Learning Center

Friday, August 9 nantucketlandcouncil.org for more info

Established in 1974, the Nantucket Land Council is the only environmental watchdog group on Nantucket Island.

The NLC works to protect Nantucket’s natural resources in three major areas— planning, protecting, preserving.

PLANNING: The NLC monitors development proposals, offers educational programs, grants and scholarships, and makes recommendations to voters on issues which affect the environment.

Eelgrass Planting Day with Fabien Cousteau

PROTECTING: The NLC conducts scientific research to support the protection of our natural resources such as native species, wildlife habitat, and water quality.

Annual End of Season Dinner

PRESERVING: The NLC specializes in holding conservation restrictions.

CRs allow the property to remain in the owner’s hands, while ensuring that the land remains preserved.

Saturday, August 10 More details to come!

Labor Day Monday, September 2 The Westmoor Club