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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20141030-NantCoastalConserv_ltr_re_SBPF_201410310914321531From:danneatherton@comcast.net To:Erika Mooney Subject:**IMPORTANT** TIME-SENSTIVE LETTER TO THE BOS MEMBERS AND THE TM FROM CONCERNED NANTUCKET CITIZENS Date:Thursday, October 30, 2014 5:21:34 PM Attachments:LETTER TO GOVERNOR PATRICK.pdf TO: ERIKA FROM: D. ANNE RE: ATTACHED LETTER Attached please find a time-sensitive letter to the members of the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager involving the Baxter Road erosion situation. As you know, a decision by the State in the matter is imminent. As indicated, the letter has also been sent to the Governor, Senator Wolf and Representative Madden, with copies to the Secretary of EEA and the Commissioner of DEP. Note that the letter is NOT an electronic petition. Please know that this group of signers is representative of our at-large community: year-round and seasonal residents, native islanders, Nantucket working people, caring citizens all who are extremely concerned with the possible loss of the public beach below the bluff in Sconset. If you would please acknowledge that our letter has been received, we would appreciate it, Erika. Thank you. ATTACHMENT info@savenantucketbeaches.org NCC Coordinating Team Barbara Bund Sunny Daily Susan McFarland John MersonLinda Spery Liz Trillos Charley Walters Mary Wawro Peter B. Brace Environmental Writer Susan Landmann Photographer D. Anne AthertonMike Gillies Administrative Coordinators Nantucket Coastal Conservancy, PO Box 2050, Nantucket MA 02584 info@savenantucketbeaches.org to preserve and protectnantucket’s natural beaches October 30, 2014 The Honorable Deval Patrick, Governor The Honorable Daniel A. Wolf, State Senator The Honorable Timothy R. Madden, State Representative Members, Nantucket Board of Selectmen Dear Governor Patrick, Senator Wolf, Representative Madden and Members of the Nantucket Board of Selectmen: We, the undersigned recreational fishermen, birders, walkers and beach lovers of Nantucket, wish to express our strong opposition to the Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund’s (SBPF) 900-foot “emergency” geotube coastal engineering structure installed at the base of the bluff in Siasconset. We understand that this installation is under consideration by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a superseding order of conditions that could potentially overrule the Nantucket Conservation Commission’s June 3, 2014, denial of this project. The fact is that hard structures such as this sea wall will obstruct access to, and eventually destroy, the public beach in front of it. We respectfully request that the DEP consider the needs of all users of this part of Nantucket’s eastern shore and uphold the Conservation Commission’s denial. Contrary to information provided by SBPF regarding the public’s lack of use of this pristine beach, fishing — including surfcasting and saltwater fly fishing — along this particular part of Nantucket’s coastline has a decades-old history, as birding and walking do. A beach’s worth shouldn’t be judged by the quantities of the users, but by the quality of the experiences had on it by any and all users. Being able to walk along or fish from a beach on which you’re the only one doing so, for as far as you can see, shouldn’t be a reason to justify its loss and severely degrade the health of the surrounding coastal environment. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) shares our concern, as stated in a recent Comment Letter to the DEP regarding the geotube sea wall: Letter from Nantucket 2 Nantucket Coastal Conservancy, PO Box 2050, Nantucket MA 02584 info@savenantucketbeaches.org “The existing geotube footprint restricts shoreline access for seasonal recreational fishing activity. While apparently graded at the north and south ends to allow access past the structure, shoreline access to this immediate section of Siasconset Beach at high tide is limited.” Given that this project is on town land, a legacy to the citizens of Nantucket from the Proprietors, we urge you to do everything in your power to save our beach — not only for us, but also for future generations of islanders and visitors. Thank you. Sincerely, Susanne Albright Virginia Andrews D. Anne R. Atherton Burton Balkind Ruth and Robi Blumenstein Julia Blyth Evelyn Smith Boeckman Peter Boyce Paul M. Budzynski Barbara Bund Anna Caspersen Erik Caspersen Robert J. Clawson Jane F. Connell Liza Stewardson Connolly Susan Cooper Cronyn Prof. Alfred W. Crosby Sean and Lindsay Curry Sunny Daily Tristram Coffin Dammin MD Derick, Brenda and Kelsey Denby Nina S. Duchaine Jennifer and Josh Eldridge Mark Fahan Judith C. Fine Anne and Lucas Fischer Ellen Flamm and Richard Peterson Letter from Nantucket 3 Nantucket Coastal Conservancy, PO Box 2050, Nantucket MA 02584 info@savenantucketbeaches.org Kerry Kennedy Flynn William and Melinda Gardner Cinda Gaynor Isabelle Georgeaux Samuel Golding David Goodman Martha A. Gray Robert F. Greenhill Nannette Gustafson Margaret B. Hallowell Janet A. Hart Marie Gildehaus Henke Christine Hermansdorfer Richard and Janice Hoff Richard and Lola Jagolta Leslie Johnson Rob Johnson Dr. Frances Karttunen Peter and Maria Kellner Robert Landmann Susan Landmann Timothy Langevin Gary Langley The Learnard Family Scott J. Leonard, Director of Operations, NMMCP Captain Tobey Leske Richard and Christine Loftin Frances E. Long Martin T. Long Sandy MacDonald Alice Reno Malone Helen B. Manchester Susan P. McFarland William J. McKee, Jr. Jack McKay Brook P. Meerbergen Frank Morral Linda Morral Letter from Nantucket 4 Nantucket Coastal Conservancy, PO Box 2050, Nantucket MA 02584 info@savenantucketbeaches.org Peter Morrison Elizabeth Murray Alan and Patricia Myers Alex Nelson-Frick E.C. Netherthorpe Stephen B. O’Brien Susan M. O’Brien Elizabeth Oldham Nannette Orr James Perelman Blair Perkins Victoria Merson Pickwick Robert Rank Nancy Rappaport Edith A. Ray Dr. Charles and Susan Rickards Barbara and David Roby Jane Sheets Reema Sherry The Reverend Linda Simmons John P. Sjovall Carol Spade Craig Spery Linda Spery Ann Stock Robert Stock Catherine Flanagan Stover Thomas C. Succop Derek Till Sheila F. Todd Elizabeth Majkowski Trillos Jose Trillos R.D. Trudell Elizabeth Van Brunt Michael Van Brunt Dirck Van Lieu Sharon Van Lieu Gay Vogt Letter from Nantucket 5 Nantucket Coastal Conservancy, PO Box 2050, Nantucket MA 02584 info@savenantucketbeaches.org Dorothy Vollans Anthony F. Walsh, Esq. Charles Walters Laura Wasserman Peter Watrous Mary Wawro Jean A. Webster Karen and Richard Werner Alice and George Wislocki Amy Zielinski Erik Zissu Maria Zodda COPY: Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett, Office of Energy and Environment Affairs Commissioner David W. Cash, Mass DEP Mr. James Mahala, Mass DEP, Southeast Region Ms. C. Elizabeth Gibson, Town Manager, Town of Nantucket The public beach below the bluff in Sconset was gifted to the citizens of Nantucket by the Proprietors in the late 1880s. — With thanks to Van Lieu Photography for photo of the beach in its natural state.