2021 SUMMER NEWS
Nantucket Land Council
PLANNING
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PROTECTING
INSIDE
this
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PRESERVING
ISSUE
Investigating Sandbar Sharks—pg. 2 FREE Clean Water Webinars—pg. 3 Surfside Crossing Appeals Update—pg. 4 Madaket Area Buildout Analysis—pg. 6 Save the Dates—pg. 8
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 Laurel Ried Langworthy, Treasurer Susan E. Robinson, Clerk Matt Anderson Susan Baer Mary-Randolph Ballinger Larry Breakiron William S. Brenizer Christine Donelan Thomas V. Farrell Robert Friedman Nancy Gillespie Nathanael Greene Charles A. Kilvert III Lucy Leske Peter McCausland Keltie Donelan McDonald Carl H. Sjolund H. Brooks Smith Lars Soderberg David Troast Peter Watrous
HONORARY DIRECTORS William M. Crozier, Jr. Eileen P. McGrath
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR
RESEARCH NEWS
STAFF
Investigating Sandbar Sharks on Nantucket
James W. Sutherland, Ph.D. Emily Molden, Executive Director emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org RJ Turcotte, Nantucket Waterkeeper rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org Meg Browers Development Director meg@nantucketlandcouncil.org Shari Santos, Bookkeeper
GENERAL COUNSEL Peter R. Fenn Fenn & Associates
Design by: Gioiosa Design Harvard, MA, www.gioiosadesign.com Printed On Recycled Paper
Nantucket is one of the northernmost seasonal habitats of Carcharhinus plumbeus, commonly known as the sandbar shark. The sandbar shark gets to be around 6-7 feet long, and their diet is composed of fishes and invertebrates. As a top predator, they are crucial in maintaining balanced food webs. Sandbar sharks are known to inhabit the nearshore waters of our lovely, little island, Nantucket, playing a critical role in our local marine ecology. NLC is supporting shark researcher Caroline Collatos to catch, tag, and monitor these incredible yet drastically misunderstood summer residents. Caroline is in the process of strategically installing acoustic receivers around Nantucket and within the Nantucket Sound so that any tagged sharks swimming past these receivers will leave evidence of its passage. Basically, we will be tracking these sharks’ activity around the island and in the Nantucket Sound! These data will help Caroline, as well as the rest of us, better understand the habits of these important fish. Additionally, this receiver array can also detect or “note” any other species monitored with this tag type (including white sharks, sea turtles, stripers, and more), contributing even more information and data on the marine biodiversity Nantucket hosts! To help fund Caroline’s work, please visit nantucketlandcouncil.org/support/ donate/ and specify “shark research” under special instructions. Your donation will go directly to Caroline’s research and investigating our local sandbar sharks! Cover photo by Grey Lady Aerials
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EDUCATION NEWS
Clean Water Series The Nantucket Land Council is excited to present our virtual educational series: Clean Water—Topics on Tap! Each month this summer season, the NLC hosts a special guest speaker for a live virtual webinar, who will present on an important water quality topic followed by a live Q&A. Each monthly webinar will be held via Zoom and registration is free and open to all. All past Clean Water webinars are available on our website nantucketlandcouncil.org and on YouTube. Earlier this year we hosted Alissa Cox for a presentation on caring for your septic system, and in June we hosted Shark Biologist Caroline Collatos who presented her summer research project on Sandbar Sharks on Nantucket. Join us for upcoming Clean Water: Topics on Tap webinars including: July 15: Hosted by Mary Parks, founder of GreenCrab.org—live cooking demonstration and discussion about the invasive green crab August 19: Hosted by Graeme Durovich, Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator at the Nantucket DPW—in-depth look at Coastal Plastics in and around Nantucket and presentation on the latest research and initiatives addressing Coastal Plastics September 16: Hosted by RJ Turcotte with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation—learn about collaborative efforts to monitor and address Harmful Algal Blooms at Capaum Pond and around Nantucket. Registration for all Clean Water webinars is available at Nantucketlandcouncil.org! Join us!
State of the Harbor Forum The Nantucket Land Council is pleased to present its 5th annual State of the Harbor Forum this summer on Tuesday, July 20th at 4:30pm at the Nantucket Yacht Club. As we embrace and expand upon our new Nantucket Waterkeeper role we have launched a campaign on Green Boating Tips for a Healthy Harbor. You may have seen these posted on social media or in one of our e-newsletters this spring. This year the State of the Harbor Forum will be a culmination of this campaign with a presentation and discussion around boat use in our harbor, the effects on our resources and infrastructure, and how we can all participate in preventing or mitigating these impacts on a personal and community level. We hope you will join NLC staff and Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucy for this important Forum. The event will be recorded and made available through our website at nantucketlandcouncil.org.
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ADVOCACY NEWS
Surfside Crossing Appeals Update The appeals surrounding the proposed Surfside Crossing 40B development have been proceeding throughout this year. The Housing Appeals Committee (HAC), the state agency charged with reviewing the developers’ appeal of the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Comprehensive Permit, denied the Nantucket Land Council’s motion to intervene as a party in their proceedings. They also made a determination that the brand new plans to construct 156 condominium units in 18 buildings, (as opposed to the 60 mixed units permitted by the ZBA), was not a substantial change and did not need to be remanded back to the Board for local review and approval. The Nantucket Land Council and the Nantucket ZBA appealed these two decisions, respectively, to Superior Court. While the ZBA’s appeal, as an official party to the HAC proceedings, will not be heard until the agency issues a final decision on the permit, the NLC appeared before Superior Court early in May to appeal its denial of intervention in the Housing Appeals Committee hearings. The HAC based their denial, in part, on their conclusion that the preservation of open space is not an interest for consideration by the agency under Chapter 40B. The NLC maintained that this was an error of law as Chapter 40B clearly includes the preservation of open spaces as one criteria for consideration when determining if a development proposal is “consistent with local needs.” The NLC was thrilled to receive a favorable decision from the Court on June 22 stating that the HAC improperly refused to allow NLC to intervene and corrected their “abuse of discretion and error of law”, holding unequivocally that “chapter 40B does protect interests in preservation of open space.” In addition to this pathbreaking ruling, the Court also found that NLC had legal standing to challenge the comprehensive permit, and may now participate as a party when the HAC rehears the matter. NLC staff and attorneys attended the HAC’s South Shore Road site visit on May 13th with an unprecedented turnout of concerned residents showing opposition to this oversized and hugely impactful project. The NLC is proud to be fighting alongside the Town and so many community members to address all of our local rights and needs. For more information and further updates visit nantucketlandcouncil.org.
Middle photo at right: NLC Executive Director Emily Molden with attorneys Peter Fenn and Dennis Murphy at the Surfside Crossing site visit, joined by over 100 concerned residents.
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To Whom it May Concern, As a neighbor to the proposed project, I am writing to urge your committee to vote no on the Surfside Crossing 40B housing proposal on Nantucket. Nantucket is currently struggling under its own weight of existing pressure on natural resources; water and energy. This development will exacerbate an already burgeoning problem. Our year round population has ballooned in recent years, especially during the pandemic, as more folks bought houses here and the seasonality of the island continues to lengthen into the shoulder seasons. We don’t even know yet how these population changes will affect our natural resources. More data is needed before more development, especially of this density and scale, is allowed. I strongly believe this will upset not only the natural environment, flora and fauna surrounding this area, but also the existing community’s quality of life very deeply. I sincerely hope that the project can be reworked to actually meet the needs of both preserving our natural landscape and resources, and also the needs of the year round community. As this project stands, it does none of these things.
This heartfelt letter of concern was sent to the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) who is reviewing the Surfside Crossing appeal. We encourage everyone to make their voices heard in one way or another on critical issues such as this. We thank Leah for her participation and advocacy during the Surfside Crossing appeal process.
Sincerely, Leah Mojer Nantucket resident
COMMUNITY NEWS
2021 Nantucket Trashtag Join the Nantucket Land Council Associates for an island-wide #NantucketTrashtag beach cleanup! Throughout the entire month of August the Nantucket Land Council Associates group is organizing a Nantucket Beach Cleanup to help rid our island of litter. We encourage you to get out and clean your favorite beach and roadside and track your collection to our group event using the free Clean Swell app. Together we can make a HUGE impact! Simply bring your gloves and bags to a beach (or trail or street) near you any time during the month of August and collect the trash you find! Once you’ve filled your bag, download the free Clean Swell app and upload your collection (i.e. how many plastic bottles, balloons, glass bottles, etc) and our group impact will be automatically tallied! Take a picture of yourself and your family, and post to social media with the hashtag #NantucketTrashtag and be sure to tag @nantucketlandcouncil! On Saturday, August 21, we will have a group cleanup starting at the corner of Miacomet Road and Surfside Road. Meet us there and help us clean the major roads leading to some of Nantucket’s most popular beaches. We encourage you to bring your own gardening gloves and paper bags rather than disposable gloves or plastic bags. Burlap bags will also be available! A huge thanks to Nantucket Clean Team and Nantucket DPW for helping us with this massive month long cleanup! 5
The Nantucket Conservation Commission has found SBPF’s geotube project in violation of its permit. For the past five years, SBPF has not been providing enough mitigation sand, nor is it monitoring the project correctly. Stay informed on this issue by signing up for our Enewsletter and following us on social media.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring NLC continues to learn more about our island ponds through water quality monitoring. Our research is bringing attention to what ails island ponds and getting abutters involved in improving water quality in these beautiful places.
New Summer Intern at NLC The Nantucket Land Council welcomes Dayna Ullathorne as the Summer 2021 intern. Dayna is a rising senior at the University of Vermont in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and is majoring in Environmental Sciences. She is fascinated by climate change and is curious how coastal ecosystems and communities will respond to challenges such as sea level rise and development. Her passion for the environment was fostered by growing up in the seaside town of Duxbury, Massachusetts and exploring the various ecological communities present there. Dayna will aid in a few research projects such as monitoring freshwater ponds for algal blooms and water quality, Eelgrass habitat restoration, and invasive Green Crab monitoring. During her free time, Dayna enjoys running and spending time at the beach as well as hiking and skiing while at UVM.
Madaket Area Buildout Analysis The Nantucket Land Council is very pleased to announce it’s receipt of a grant from the Madaket Conservation Association (MCA) to fund a buildout analysis of the Madaket area. As the Town continues to plan for sewer expansion out to Madaket, the residents and the Land Council are concerned about how access to this new infrastructure may significantly increase development pressure and potential in those neighborhoods. The purpose of this study is to evaluate what the potential buildout of Madaket will be with Town sewer so that the community can address questions about how it would like to plan for its future. The Nantucket Land Council is engaging the Principle Group, an urban design, development and planning firm headquartered in Boston to complete the analysis. We will be working with assistance from ACKNow and members of the MCA on this project throughout the summer. 6
Green Crab Week With funds from the NLC Water Fund and Nantucket Shellfish Association, NLC is partnering with Dr. Emily Goldstein Murphy to conduct a formal demographics survey of the invasive European Green Crab in our Harbor. Dr. Goldstein Murphy’s data will allow us to create a map of Nantucket Harbor indicating where green crabs are congregating. This data will better help us focus our mitigation efforts against this destructive crustacean.
Member Spotlight
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Marcia Aguiar
NLC is also continuing its green crab molting program this summer, as we continue to explore the potential of green crabs as a commercial fishery and culinary delight for local restaurants and fish markets. If you’d like to learn more and/or get involved, please send a message to RJ Turcotte at rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org.
I am a member of the Nantucket Land Council because of the work they do to help educate the community on important environmental issues. This year I was thrilled to see them focus on promoting more pollinator habitat on Nantucket. I love working in and learning from my pollinator garden, but have become very concerned about lower diversity and overall numbers of bees and butterflies. I hope that many others will join me in never using pesticides and using the Land Council’s educational materials to help them start their own gardens and support our pollinator populations!
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Coastal Plastics Research As our community continues to phase out the commercial sale of single use plastics, we continue to learn more about how plastics are behaving in our environment. NLC is proud to be funding the study of macro- and microplastics on our beaches and nearshore waters, in partnership with UMass Boston and the Nantucket DPW. By collecting samples of sand, water just a few yards off the beach, and in 2021 precipitation samples, we are learning just what sorts of plastics are ubiquitous in the beach environment we all cherish. Early samples have been dominated by one type of microplastic in particular- synthetic fibers, like polyester found in fleece jackets and fiberglass insulation. These fibers continue to break down into smaller and smaller pieces and are becoming more common in the environment. Stay tuned for a formal report on what else we’ve found later this year! 7
2021 SUMMER NEWS
Nantucket Land Council PLANNING
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PROTECTING
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PRESERVING
Post Office Box 502 Nantucket, MA 02554 www.nantucketlandcouncil.org
SAVE THE DATES
Clean Water Series: Topics on Tap Webinar Series Thursdays July 15, August 19 and September 16, 2021 via Zoom
Nantucket Bioblitz with LLNF July 1-31, 2021 Events at LLNF and Bioblitz island-wide Download the FREE iNaturalist app! State of the Harbor Forum Tuesday, July 20, 2021 Nantucket Yacht Club and via Zoom 2021 Nantucket Trashtag August 1-31, 2021 Island-wide Download the free CleanSwell app! NLC Annual Meeting Tuesday, August 3, 2021 via Zoom
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. PROTECTING: The NLC conducts scientific research to support the protection of our natural resources such as native species, wildlife habitat, and water quality. 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.
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NLC Annual Dinner Sunday, September 5, 2021 Private Residence
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