Nantucket Waterkeeper: Your Eyes and Ears for Nantucket’s Waters
Eelgrass Seeding in Nantucket Harbor
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Looking for Our Balance: NLC Water Fund Challenge Impacts of Growth & Development On-Island Grant page 4
Capaum Pond Report Card
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NANTUCKET LAND COUNCIL
2021 WATER NEWS Updates on the NLC’s work to protect
and preserve our Nantucket water resources
We
Love Our Nantucket Waters
NLC Water Fund Challenge Grant
Every donation will be fully matched up to $50,000 to meet our goal! Double your impact today!
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WATER NEWS from the Executive Director Nantucket Land Council 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 Paddy Farrell Robert Friedman Nancy Gillespie Nathanael Green Matt Haffenreffer Charles A. Kilvert III Lucy Leske Matt Liddle Peter McCausland Keltie Donelan McDonald Alan Nathan Carl H. Sjolund H. Brooks Smith Lars Soderberg David Troast Peter Watrous Helen Weeks HONORARY DIRECTORS William Crozier SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR James W. Sutherland, Ph.D. STAFF Emily Molden, Executive Director emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org RJ Turcotte, Nantucket Waterkeeper rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org Meg Browers Development Director meg@nantucketlandcouncil.org Anna Day Administrative Assistant anna@nantucketlandcouncil.org Design by: Gioiosa Design Harvard, MA www.gioiosadesign.com Printed On Recycled Paper
Happy Autumn! As the seasons change and we transition beyond the summer, the Nantucket Land Council would like to reflect on and celebrate its projects and programs this year that specifically focused on our island’s water resources. 2021 is the first year we have enjoyed our new partnership with the Waterkeeper Alliance through our Nantucket Waterkeeper program. As part of this program we have christened our first boat which was donated to us by NLC Board member Ms. Mary-Randolph Ballinger. This vessel has assisted us greatly in completing eelgrass and green crab research, harbor monitoring, and educational programs. As the official Nantucket Waterkeeper, RJ Turcotte is your eyes and ears on the water. We continued our freshwater pond sampling and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) monitoring on a number of local ponds. The Nantucket Land Council’s groundbreaking research on the aerosolization of the cyanotoxin, anatoxin-a, was also published in the peer reviewed journal, Lake and Reservoir Management. We are pleased to continue our advocacy efforts around policies and regulations, including a bylaw change at June’s Town Meeting further limiting potential impacts from the reconstruction of private docks and piers in our harbors. Our Water Fund Founders Circle members continue to support our water programs and projects and I am pleased to announce the NLC Board is providing a generous matching grant of $50,000 through the end of 2021, so please don’t hesitate. Join us in protecting and preserving our island waters today! Sincerely,
Emily Molden
Executive Director
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NLC is Nantucket’s Waterkeeper: Advocating for your island water resources From Nantucket Sound to Gibbs pond, Madaket Harbor to our sole source aquifer and everything in between, the Waterkeeper program serves as your eyes and ears on Nantucket’s water resources. By educating the public, conducting research, and advocating for clean water at the local, state and federal level, Nantucket Waterkeeper is working hard to ensure fishable, drinkable and swimmable waters for all. Our work is strengthened by members of the community who get involved. If you have a water-related concern that isn’t being addressed, don’t hesitate to contact our Waterkeeper RJ Turcotte at rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org or 508-228-2818.
NLC Receives Funding to Support Eelgrass Seeding Program
The Nantucket Land Council is excited to announce a new program to further its eelgrass restoration efforts in Nantucket Harbor through seeding techniques. Since 2018 the NLC has been working to transplant eelgrass from healthy meadows to a ½ acre site in Monomoy. Annual monitoring has shown success of these techniques, and the NLC is planning to increase its efforts with some new tools. In a partnership with the Nantucket Natural Resources Department, the NLC will venture to harvest 200,000 eelgrass seeds next summer. The seeds will be processed at the Shellfish Hatchery, and planted at two sites using a variety of techniques. The ongoing monitoring of this restoration work is being funded by a generous grant from the Agua Fund, and the NLC is seeking state funding to support the overall seeding program. Evaluating a variety of restoration tools will enhance Nantucket’s ability to support eelgrass communities around the island as it faces increased stress in a changing climate. 3
Looking for Our Balance visitors’ needs. At an estimated 90,000– 100,000 people, this huge spike not only stresses the public water infrastructure, it can also translate to increased pollution and waste problems. These include the land use impacts from the development and landscaping of properties to house an increasing population of seasonal and year-round residents or as rentals, more vehicles bringing more contaminants to roadways, and solid waste production. In natural systems species experience population booms and busts, finding balance given the resources available. People do not typically follow the same rules. As Nantucket’s water resources face increasing stress from a changing climate and more intensive use, we must work towards finding a better balance to preserve the capacity that they have to support us. After all, what would Nantucket be without clean water.
We are truly fortunate in this part of the world, and of the country, to be able to take the health and availability of clean water resources for granted. To some extent, Nantucket has escaped the intensity of environmental pressure and impact exhibited in other parts of the eastern US because of its isolation. This has been changing as property demand and accessibility has increased. Nantucket is one of many places in the country where the environment and beauty attracts a growing tourism community. This community, in turn, brings both local prosperity as well as pressure on those same resources that drive it. This past summer the island saw numbers unlike most of us have experienced before. The Wannacomet Water Company broke previous pumping records for June and July when it pumped 120 million gallons out of our aquifer to serve resident and
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Water Fund Challenge Grant
Love Our Nantucket Waters
We love our Nantucket waters! Help the Nantucket Land Council continue our robust protection and preservation efforts in and around our fresh and marine water resources by making a contribution to our NLC Water Fund. This special restricted fund helps support our water-focused initiatives, including our Eelgrass Restoration research in Nantucket and Madaket harbors, Coastal Plastics research alongside UMass Field Station and the Nantucket DPW, Green Crab population and fishery studies, Harmful Algal Bloom and general pond research, groundwater monitoring, as well as many educational and outreach initiatives such as our State of the Harbor Forum, Clean Water: Topics on Tap webinar series, and much more.
a m e ra a t Your support is critical—and every donation counts. Make DOUBLE THE ur c th i IMPACT this fall. Every donation up to $50,000 will be matched by NLC Board Members committed to our water protection efforts. Help us meet our goal of $100,000 to protect and preserve Nantucket’s water resources— DONATE TODAY!
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For over a decade, the Nantucket Land Council has established itself as the island’s eyes and ears for our water resources. We are honored to also serve as Nantucket’s Waterkeeper— part of The Waterkeeper Alliance (see more p. 3).
onate today!
Green Crab Week This year’s week-long event highlighting creative ways to control the invasive species, the European Green Crab, was a smashing success—literally! In collaboration with Sustainable Nantucket, folks of all ages participated in a demonstration on how to create fertilizer by crushing dead crabs. Each participant went home with a healthy amount of fertilizer for their lawn or garden. Another noteworthy workshop was a live, cooking demo with Director and Founder of GreenCrab.org and co-author of The Green Crab Cookbook, Mary Parks. Mary gave step-by-step directions on how to prepare a tasty and gourmet dish using Green Crabs collected from our harbor. And we can’t forget the success that followed our 1st annual Green Crab Derby. With help from the Maria Mitchell Association, 13 teams and 49 participants showed up and collected over 650 green crabs. The derby alone likely prevented up to 60 million larval baby green crabs from entering our waters this year! Thanks to all of those who participated. Visit our website to learn more about Green Crabs and why they’re seen as destructive and problematic for our harbor ecosystems and eelgrass beds. 55
Clean Water Series Connecting with our community of like-minded environmentalists, specialists, and consultants was a highlight of summer 2021—whether in person at an event or seminar, out in the field, or by zoom for a webinar or meeting. This summer the Nantucket Land Council hosted a series of free, monthly webinars on a variety of water based topics including Sandbar Sharks, Coastal Plastics, a Green Crab cooking demo, a Septic System 101 course for homeowners, and an in-depth presentation and discussion about Funded by the NLC Water Fund Harmful Algal Blooms on the island and what local organizations are doing about them. The 5 part summer series was supported by the NLC Water Fund and our Water Fund Founders Circle. Each monthly webinar was moderated by either NLC Executive Director Emily Molden or NLC Waterkeeper RJ Turcotte, who were joined by a special guest speaker. Each webinar lasted about one-hour and had time at the end for a Q&A component. Missed a webinar live? No worries! All of our Clean Water: Topics on Tap webinars are available free at our website: www.nantucketlandcouncil.org. You can also find our past webinars and other presentations at https://www.nantucketlandcouncil.org/education/clean-water-series/ or on our YouTube channel.
5th Annual State of the Harbor Forum The Nantucket Land Council was pleased to present the community with our 5th Annual State of the Harbor Forum this summer. On July 19th Executive Director Emily Molden and Nantucket Waterkeeper RJ Turcotte shared the stage with Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey to present this forum focused on Boat Use for a Healthy Harbor. The team of three reviewed Nantucket’s current policies and practices along with suggestions for how everyone can contribute to a healthier harbor environment while enjoying time on the water. The presentation and discussion can be found and viewed at: https://youtu.be/sblAGSPhBgM .
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#Trashtag ultimate #Trashtag Collaboration Cleanup event on Saturday, August 21, 2021. Over 45 caring and enthusiastic volunteers met at Miacomet Rd. and Surfside Rd. for one hour of mass collection. They cleaned the highest-need areas of streets and bike paths, and also made it all the way to nearby beaches. There was a buzz of excitement, enthusiasm and dedication; after just one hour, the diehard cleaners collected one ton of garbage filling an entire truck bed from Nantucket DPW. The joy was infectious and the impact was immediately tangible. We thank every enthusiastic participant who helped out, and the DPW for collecting our results. We look forward to future projects next summer, our work is just picking up!
As another pandemic Summer winds down, the Land Council is excited to celebrate a successful year of collaboration in our litter collection efforts spearheaded by the NLC Associates. #Trashtag is an internet-based challenge that was started in 2015. The NLC looked to #Trashtag to help us find a way to clean up, and contribute to a greater worldwide collaboration. Throughout the month of August, participants cleaned up remotely, at beaches, parks or roadsides close to their homes. We asked that they create the lowest environmental impact themselves, by bringing reusable/washable gloves and their own paper bags to collect in. Along with the Nantucket Clean Team and off-island organization Boston Cares, we created the Pond Report Card— This year, NLC followed in the footsteps of many other water quality organizations in creating a boiled down, easy to digest report card on the health of Capaum Pond. This easy to understand format will be a great tool to showcase our research to the public and raise awareness around water quality issues on Nantucket.
A Scientific First at Capaum Pond—In 2019, NLC teamed up with off-island researchers to test special devices, called aerosol collectors at Capaum Pond. These machines “sniff” the air for toxins escaping a Harmful Algal Bloom, and for the first time ever, anatoxin-a was captured on a filter after becoming airborne. The research note, published this Spring, has become the most viewed article in the history of the scientific journal it was published in!
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2021 WATER NEWS NANTUCKET LAND COUNCIL
PO Box 502, Nantucket, MA 02554 www.nantucketlandcouncil.org PLANNING | PROTECTING | PRESERVING
A special Thank You to our Water Fund Founders Circle members who have made a yearly contribution of $5000 or more:
FOUNDERS Circle
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NLC Water Fund Challenge Grant
Every donation will be fully matched up to $50,000 to meet our goal! Double your impact today!
Alan and Virginia Nathan The Overbrook Foundation The Slayton Family Foundation Meredyth and Brooks Smith Lars O. and Jane Soderberg Merrielou and Ned Symes James D. Toole Visco Pumping, Inc. Anonymous Anonymous (2)
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Love Our Nantucket Waters
Susan and Michael Baer William and Margaret Brenizer The Cox/Bartram/Farrell Family Robert and Barbara Friedman The Heinz Family Foundation The Herbert D. Condie Jr. Family Foundation Evan and Cindy Jones Peter and Bonnie McCausland— The McCausland Foundation
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Water Fund
onate today!