Summer 2018 Nantucket Land Council Newsletter

2018 SUMMER NEWS

Nantucket Land Council, Inc. PLANNING

•

PROTECTING

•

PRESERVING

INSIDE this ISSUE Harbor Eelgrass Assessment—pg. 2

Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements—pg. 3 Green Crabs—pg. 4

The Water Fund—pg. 5

Surfside Crossing—pg. 6

Educational Grants Celebrate 25 Years—pg. 7

Nantucket Land Council, Inc. 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 Susan E. Robinson, Clerk 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 Neil Marttila 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. Jean Haffenreffer

STAFF

Cormac Collier, Executive Director cormac@nantucketlandcouncil.org Emily Molden, Resource Ecologist emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org Meg McNeely Browers Outreach & Membership Director meg@nantucketlandcouncil.org Shari Santos, Bookkeeper

OF COUNSEL

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

RESEARCH NEWS

Assessing the Health of Nantucket Harbor Eelgrass This summer the NLC is initiating an exciting new research project to evaluate the health of eelgrass meadows throughout Nantucket Harbor. Resource Ecologist Emily Molden is working with Alyssa Novak, seagrass specialist and Assistant Research Professor at Boston University, to carry out this work. Novak has established 6 transects throughout the harbor and will be surveying these areas for physical characteristics such as leaf length, density and the assemblage of epiphytes (organisms growing on the eelgrass). This information will be compared among sites as well as with eelgrass beds in regional locations like the North Shore and Cape Cod. Novak is also collecting samples of eelgrass shoots which will be used in a stable isotope analysis. Isotopic analysis can determine the source of nutrients within the plant tissue. For example, the results of this study may indicate sources of nutrient pollution in different parts of the harbor such as fertilizer or wastewater. This data will also be compared with data from regional locations that have already taken advantage of these techniques. Aside from providing a lot of information on the overall health and status of our eelgrass meadows, this research funded in part by a generous grant from the Great Harbor Yacht Club and also by the NLC Water Fund will serve as important baseline information that can be compared to analyses in the future as a way of monitoring changes to both meadow structure and the nutrient inputs that the island is working so hard to reduce.

Printed On Recycled Paper

2

Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements The Land Council has also hired the Horsley Witten Consulting Group to redesign the stormwater infrastructure at the Town parking lot on Washington Street Extension. Rainwater currently enters the harbor directly through a series of catch basins and a main outfall pipe across the street located next to the Town Pier. We hope to redirect the stormwater to infiltration swales and constructed wetlands and eliminate a significant source of pollution along the Washington Street shoreline.

As part of the Land Council’s continuing work to investigate and mitigate potential contaminants entering the groundwater from the landfill, we have hired expert consultants to design a comprehensive stormwater management plan.

The current stormwater system at the Landfill is designed primarily to deal with potential flooding rather than groundwater protection. The updated plan will propose new infrastructure to focus on nutrient and pollutant retention.

Above: Executive Director Cormac Collier and Resource Ecologist Emily Molden sample stormwater at Consue Springs.

Cover Photo: Polpis Harbor

3

RESEARCH NEWS

European Green Crabs Take Two The NLC has teamed up with the Maria Mitchell Association and the Town of Nantucket Natural Resources Department once again to evaluate the European green crab population on Hussey Shoal. The capture-markrecapture techniques being used by the research team will provide useful information on how far these crabs are traveling and what their population structure looks like within Nantucket Harbor. The NLC, MMA and NRD hope to use this information to inform future conversations about green crab management. Communities throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Nova Scotia have suffered from shellfish and eelgrass declines that are likely linked to the explosion in the green crab population of the last few decades. Nantucket’s harbor ecosystem and shellfish populations are also being impacted by this invasive species, but we are not sure to what degree.

A harbor wide distribution survey is being planned later this summer. If you are interested in volunteering with this effort, please contact Resource Ecologist Emily Molden at emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org.

Affixing a numbered tag to a green crab in Nantucket Harbor

4

The Water Fund This spring, the Board of the Nantucket Land Council announced the creation of “The Water Fund”; a donor-restricted fund to help support marine and freshwater projects on Nantucket.

For the past five years, the Nantucket Land Council has steadily transitioned into being the leading voice for the protection, investigation, and education of our water resources. The NLC has begun several important research initiatives this summer including a green crab population study (p. 4) and an eelgrass health study and restoration project (p. 2), all in Nantucket Harbor, as well as working with expert consultants to assess the stormwater infrastructure in downtown Nantucket (p. 3).

All of these important initiatives are made possible thanks to The Water Fund.

In the coming years, we will be expanding our water projects by supplementing the Town of Nantucket’s water quality sampling, engaging in further research and investigation of water related initiatives, and planning critical stormwater infrastructure upgrades.

Our Water Fund started off with a generous $25,000 donation and backing of the Board of Directors. We need your help to continue to protect and preserve Nantucket’s marine and fresh water resources! Please consider making an additional donation to The Water Fund on top of your operating giving and help the NLC achieve even greater success in protecting and preserving the water resources of Nantucket.

WHY WE GIVE

“As a third generation Nantucket native and a member of the Nantucket Board of Health, protecting our drinking water, ponds, estuaries, and harbors is critical and of the utmost priority in my opinion, which is why I give to organizations such as Nantucket Land Council.”

5

—Stephen Visco, NLC Business Member

2018 Harbor & Oyster Farm Tour Dates Tours begin at 3:30pm.

Register online at EventBrite.com or call Meg at the NLC office. 508.228.2818 Tuesday, July 31 Tuesday, August 14 Wednesday, August 29 Wednesday, September 12 Wednesday, September 26

EVENT NEWS

Oyster Farm and Harbor Tours From June through September, the NLC is teaming up with Shearwater Excursions and Simon Edwardes of Fifth Bend Oyster Farm to provide our members with a very unique experience. Sail out on Nantucket Harbor with us and visit Fifth Bend Oyster Farm in Head of the Harbor while you learn all about oysters and the important role they play in the harbor ecosystem. Tickets available at EventBrite.com.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Community Opposes 40b Application on South Shore Road The Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals has begun the public hearing process for a 40b subdivision submitted by Nantucket Residents Jamie Feeley and Josh Posner. The Massachusetts State 40b law allows developers to bypass local zoning and regulations as long as twenty five percent of the development is restricted as “affordable�. Posner and Feeley have proposed a massive 156 unit project in an area that otherwise would have only supported 6 lots under the existing 2 acre zoning. The Land Council, along with numerous community residents, have turned out in unified opposition citing concerns about groundwater contamination, lack of on-site open space protection, traffic, and overall density. Not one on-island affordable housing advocate has supported the project. We hope Posner and Feeley will listen to the concerns of their own island neighbors and change the proposal drastically.

6

EDUCATION NEWS

Karen K Borchert Educational Grants Celebrate 25 Years Twenty-five years ago the NLC decided to support local schools and students directly by providing their teachers with additional resources for projects that supplement and enhance science education.

Every fall for the past 25 years, and each spring in more recent years, the NLC has opened up applications for these small grants to any K-12 teacher in both our public and private schools.

Many of Nantucket’s children have benefited from these grants and the NLC has granted over $100,000. One program that has been supported for over a decade is the Nantucket Intermediate School’s 5th grade trip to Nature’s Classroom (NC).

The NLC has provided funding to supplement expenses for this three day field trip totaling close to $20,000. The Nantucket New School has also received support for their 5th graders who have recently begun their own annual pilgrimage to the NC campus in Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod. The Nature’s Classroom motto is to “Think Outside The Books” and their programs are all about confidence and community building, as well as experiential education outside of the classroom focusing on the natural world. This exemplifies the mission of the NLC educational grant program perfectly. The NLC is extremely proud of the role it has played in enhancing science education on Nantucket, and looks forward to continuing our work with the schools and teachers to support them as they guide the growth of our future environmental leaders.

Pesticide Education on Nantucket In April, the Nantucket Land Council sponsored a special workshop for those actively applying or interested in pesticides on Nantucket. Environmental Chemist for the MA Department of Agricultural Resources, Dr. Hotze Wijnja, conducted a half day program titled “Environmental Fate and Ecological Risks of Pesticides and Massachusetts Groundwater Protection Regulations”. The workshop was well-attended and provided continuing education credits for licensed pesticide applicators. The NLC plans to continue offering similar opportunities to the local landscaping community so that we can all work together to raise awareness and reduce our impact on the island’s natural resources.

7

2018 SUMMER NEWS

Nantucket Land Council, Inc. PLANNING

•

PROTECTING

•

PRESERVING

NONPROFIT US POSTAGE PAID STOUGHTON, MA PERMIT NO. 160

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

SAVE THE DATE

Nantucket Land Council, Inc. PLANNING • PROTECTING • PRESERVING

July 19 State of the Harbor Forum, at Great Harbor Yacht Club July 31 Oyster Farm Harbor Tour August 7 Annual Meeting at The Nantucket Hotel August 14 & 29 Oyster Farm Harbor Tour August 21 Downtown Tree Tour September 3 Annual End of Season Dinner at the Chanticleer Restaurant September 12 & 26 Oyster Farm Harbor Tour

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.