Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

Pollinator Garden Project

This spring the NLC will be releasing pollinator garden kits to promote the installation of gardens that support some of our most critical six legged friends. These do-it-yourself guides will include all of the information you need to create a valuable and beautiful patch of pollinator habitat in one of three sizes, the smallest being an easy 10’ x 10’ plot. Many pollinator populations are in decline due to a significant loss in feeding and nesting habitats. Widespread use of chemicals, development and climate change all contribute to this loss. While habitat fragmentation and chemical use can be problematic in suburban and urban environments, home gardeners are uniquely positioned to create habitat and adopt pollinator friendly practices in their own yards. While our island partners, NCF and LLNF are actively monitoring pollinator populations on island, we hope Nantucket residents and business owners will join us in building a network of this critical habitat across the island and spend some time with family and friends creating new beautiful chemical-free spaces to enjoy in our own backyards! Stay tuned for the release of our pollinator garden kits this spring!

Spring Tip

for Landscapers & Gardeners REDUCE YOUR MOWING & DO MORE GROWING!

Do you love Nantucket’s beautiful natural landscapes and waters? Do you want to contribute to the long-term health of these valuable places? Consider reducing the size of your lawn!

Turf grasses, many of which are native to Europe, require fertilizer, and water and chemicals are often used to keep them green and weed or pest free. In addition to the resources they take to maintain, they provide little to no habitat for wildlife. Replant an area of lawn, big or small, with native vegetation…or better yet, replace it with a low maintenance pollinator garden…it will cost you less and do so much more for the health of our island environment.

E D U C A T I O N N E W S NLC in the Schools

Although this school year has produced many challenges to our traditional education methods, we are continuing to reach Nantucket’s bright students through multiple channels. Whether it be creating supplemental videos or simply joining the students on Zoom, NLC is continuing to use Nantucket as a living classroom and learning tool for environmental education. Here, RJ discusses Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) on Nantucket with New School students. We plan to expand this as restrictions allow to include educational walks downtown and along Nantucket Harbor with the Boys and Girls Club in early 2021.

Karen K. Borchert Educational Grants

NLC is proud to continue its tradition of awarding environmental education grants through its Karen K. Borchert Environmental Education Grants program. NLC awarded two grants in 2020—one to the Cyrus Peirce Middle School for purchase of Open Science Education program materials and equipment and one to the Nantucket New School to improve its student greenhouse with hydroponics equipment. The 2020 grants program will continue to accept applications throughout the 2020-2021 school year on a rolling basis to assist faculty members with meeting their education goals during this difficult school year. For more information, please visit our website or reach out to RJ Turcotte, rj@nantucketlandcouncil.org.

Member

S P O T L I G H T—Matt Haffenreffer

The Land Council is involved in an enormous number of projects and education initiatives across Nantucket, all for the sake of protecting and preserving Nantucket’s wonderful natural resources. Our tiny staff of three, while mighty, could not accomplish all of the Land Council’s important work without the help of countless others. One of these incredible volunteers is Matt Haffenreffer. Matt’s family are proud owners of a beautiful property overlooking Madaket Harbor, where they spend much of the year. Matt’s grandmother Jean Haffenreffer served on the NLC Board for decades, and in 2020 Matt continued the family tradition and joined the NLC Associates. In his role with the Associates, a group of enthusiastic young environmentalists dedicated to planning and executing our annual Friends Fete, Trashtag, Bioblitz and more, Matt has made an enormous contribution to our environmental protection efforts in one year. As if this weren’t enough, he has also thrown all of his experience and enthusiasm behind our green crab efforts and is now working with us on our “harbor to table” plans for green crabs. Matt, we cannot thank you enough!

A D V O C A C Y N E W S Sconset Beach Geotube Project

Image by Grey Lady Aerials

On December 1st, 2020 Nantucket’s Town Counsel submitted its written defense of the Conservation Commission’s 2019 denial of SBPF’s proposal to expand the geotube array beneath Sconset Bluff to a total length nearing 4,000 feet. The legal brief is short and to the point—it features months of expert testimony, much of it provided by NLC and our expert coastal engineers at Applied Coastal, as well as a detailed review by Greg Berman, a Coastal Processes Specialist for Woods Hole Sea Grant. The basis of the brief is that SBPF did not meet the legal Burden of Proof necessary to receive a permit allowing the expanded erosion project to proceed. SBPF, as part of the permitting process before the Conservation Commission, needed to show that the expansion project would provide at least the same amount of sediment to the littoral system, or more so than the Sconset bluff would naturally provide if it were not armored. However, time and again SBPF’s own annual reports have indicated that the existing geotube array has not performed as advertised. Both Applied Coastal and Mr. Berman repeatedly go on record stating that the geotube array consistently contributes less sediment than required during storm events, and by SBPF’s own admission they are not able to supply more sediment for 5-7 days after the storm system has moved through the area. Each day that the geotube array is exposed, uncovered by nourishment material (sand), it acts exactly as any hard structure would, reflecting wave energy and accelerating erosion at the front and ends of the geotubes. Thus, by using a similar project design for the proposed expansion project, SBPF did not satisfactorily meet the burden of proof required of projects before the Conservation Commission. To further illustrate this point, Mr. Berman and our experts at Applied Coastal have reviewed SBPF’s 2019 Annual Report, and the data provided indicates that SBPF had not only placed contaminated, unsuitable fill on the template, but that they have come up short on providing the required nourishment material for the past three years—a staggering 20,000 cubic yards of sand has not been provided to the littoral system. This is causing undue harm to Nantucket’s coastline to the north. In order for the Conservation Commission’s decision to be overturned, it must be found through Superior Court proceedings that the decision reached by the Commission was “arbitrary and capricious”—the months of expert testimony and data analysis indicate that the Commission’s decision was anything but. The Superior court case is ongoing, and we will keep you up to date as the case moves along. If you’d like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S Annual Town Meeting

The 2020 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was eventually held on June 25, 2020. In an effort to minimize duration and attendance, a majority of the warrant articles were held over to 2021. As planning for the 2021 ATM began it was proactively scheduled by the Town for June 5, 2021 to allow for an out of doors event. 22 citizen articles have been carried forward from 2020 and 34 new articles have been submitted.

Support the NLC today! Scan the flowcode above or visit us at www.nantucketlandcouncil.org to make a donation.

Docks & Piers

Emily Molden, the NLC Executive Director, has submitted a citizen’s article to amend the existing bylaw regulating docks and piers in our harbors.

The Bylaw currently prohibits new residential docks and piers and allows lawfully existing docks and piers to be maintained, repaired and reconstructed—provided there is no net increase in its overall footprint. As written, this allows for an existing dock or pier to be reconstructed as a narrower and longer structure that may extend into important shellfish and eelgrass habitat without a net increase in its footprint. The amendment as submitted requires the special permit granting authority, the Zoning Board of Appeals, to also determine that the reconstruction will not be more detrimental to the marine environment than the existing structure. The ZBA is referred to the Harbormaster and the Natural Resources Department for comment and recommendation. The original bylaw provision was approved by ATM in 2008 following the drafting of the Municipal Harbors Plan in an effort to reduce future negative impacts from docks and piers to fishing, navigation and the harbor environment. While these projects would all require a permit from the Conservation Commission under state and local wetland regulations, this amendment ensures that appropriate Town departments can provide relevant input on the specific environmental interests that the existing moratorium on docks and piers was intended to protect.

Photo by Gretchen Gigi Callahan