Sengekontacket

Pond News

 

 

Welcome to the Spring, 2005 edition of the Friends of Sengekontacket, Inc. newsletter, Sengekontacket pond News. We will publish the occasional newsletter, but check our web site at Friends of Sengekontacket for current information about the Pond.  During the next few months we will be working on an update of our web site.  Send us an email at info@sengekontacket.org if you wish to receive this newsletter and pond alerts by email.  We have had an active and productive winter.  Here are some of the happenings:

 

Towns Approve Funding for Sengekontacket study

 

At town meetings this year in both Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, voters agreed to fund participation in The Massachusetts Estuary Project for Sengekontacket Pond.  The Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP), was initiated to address the problems of excess nitrogen discharge into the estuaries and embayments of southeastern Massachusetts.   MEP has become the crown jewel of estuary and embayment mitigation efforts in southeastern Massachusetts and is a joint effort of many levels of government.  

 

In preparation for entering the project, Sengekontacket water quality test data has been collected over a several year period.  During 2004 the Estuaries Project collected twenty sediment cores for analysis of nutrient release from bottom mud.  In 2004, the Project collected continuous dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, salinity and temperature data using four automatic recording devices from UMASS.  Volunteers from the Friends of Sengekontacket supplemented that effort and collected samples twice a week until the automatic devices were installed. 

 

FOS President Max McCreery said, “We are pleased to announce that the Edey Foundation has awarded FOS a matching grant of $2,500 for supplemental testing.  Knowledge from the MEP should be of great assistance to manage dredging, mitigate shoaling and increase tidal flushing.  We think that it is giant step forward in maintaining the health of Sengekontacket Pond.  MEP will be a sophisticated management tool for the towns.  The people who treasure Sengekontacket Pond should be very pleased. ”   For more information about the MEP program, visit our web site at www.sengekontacket.org.

 

Kids See the Darndest Things

 

When seen through the eyes of Oak Bluffs and Edgartown Sixth through Eighth Graders, the way to protect State Beach is so obvious.  Again this spring, the student’s poster art advocating “Carry In / Carry Out” of beachgoer’s trash and treasures will show adults how to be environmentally conscious of the barrier beach that runs parallel to Sengekontacket Pond.  David Faber and John Nelson, the science teachers at each school, integrate this project into environmental science units.

 

The Friends of Sengekontacket sponsors this annual student poster art contest to enlist the community’s awareness and help in maintaining the sensitive and otherwise pristine beach that borders our pond’s valued shellfish, bird and vegetation habitat.  Ray Ellis, famed Vineyard artist, and Paul Brissette, MVRHS Art Director, will again be the contest judges to determine the top 40 posters which will mark the pedestrian pathways from the road to the State Beach.  Mr. Ellis will award the winning students at ceremonies to be held at each school on June 16, 2005.

 

Big and Little Bridge Alert

 

We have been alerted that the Little Bridge channel is in critical need of dredging.  A lack of flushing and a spring overload of nutrients at this end of the Pond can result in oxygen deprivation.  The county has applied for a permit to begin dredging of 4000 CY in early June and use the material to nourish Joseph Sylvia State Beach between the 2nd and 3rd groins.  Early plans are being made for a long term dredging permit and an overall plan for dredging and beach nourishment.  Go to www.sengekontacket.org and click of Little Bridge Dredging. 

 

The Commonwealth plans to replace both the Big and Little Bridges on State Beach Road.  Plans are reported to be seventy five percent complete and have been presented to town and county officials.  The Friends of Sengekontacket have been very active monitoring the progress of design.  When we first discovered that the Commonwealth planned to replace both bridges, we cosponsored a conference of Vineyard officials and state engineers to discuss the bridge replacements.  Several of our suggestions, including fishing platforms and timbered walkways, have been incorporated in the plans.   Look at http://www.mvtimes.com/news/05262005/weekly_stories/obselect.html for more information.   The newsletter will report on the bridge replacements more fully in our next issue.

 

Planting with a Purpose

 

Do you treat your watershed well?

Do you want to foster island wildlife while at the same time creating a beautiful landscape?

Does your garden capture the Vineyard spirit?

 

 

Planting with a Purpose will show you how.  The program includes presentations by well-known island experts, Matt Pelikan, writer, naturalist, and Island Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy, and Kris Henriksen, landscaper, native plant expert, and manager of The Nature Conservancy’s Native Plant Propagation Center.   The program will be held June 23, 2005 at 4 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs School Cafeteria.   Save the date.  It is free and open to all.

 

Friends of Sengekontacket initiated the idea for a public learning session about environmentally friendly landscaping choices.  The program is being co-sponsored with Polly Hill Arboretum and The Nature Conservancy. 

 

The program will encourage island residents to protect community resources (water, land, and habitat).  For example, growing plants that are adapted to Vineyard conditions promote habitat diversity and improves availability and quality of water by limiting the need for supplemental water, nutrients, or pesticides.

 

Beach Cleanup

 

The Vineyard Conservation Society held the annual beach clean-up day on April 23, 2005. FOS participated by volunteering to pick-up trash on Silva State Beach between the two bridges, a distance of one mile.  FOS team leader Malcolm Reed said, “Our FOS sponsored team sent 25 bags of trash and other junk to the dump. It was a very successful day, and I want to say thank you to all the helpers.”

 

Friends of Sengekontacket, Inc.
 PO Box 740
Edgartown, MA 02539
Telephone: 508 627 6966
Fax: 508 627 5833
Email: info@sengekontacket.org
Website: www.sengekontacket.org