HomeMy WebLinkAboutHSAB - Special Meeting - Sept. 28 2011Nantucket Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board
Minutes of Special Meeting held on Sept. 27, 2011
Approved:
Conference Room, 2 Fairgrounds Road
Call to Order at 4:38 p.m.
Members Present: Peter B. Brace, Dr. Peter Boyce, Bill Blount and
Wendy McRae
Members Absent: Michael Glowacki, Bob Rank and Doug Smith
Marine Dept: Tara Riley
BOS: Whitey Willauer
Others: Matt Herr
Approval of Agenda:
Unanimous
Chairman’s Report:
Dr. Boyce asked Mr. Willauer why the Board of Selectmen asked
HSAB for its thoughts on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s 15-
year Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Nantucket National
Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Willauer replied that HSAB has the most
knowledge of fishing, shellfishing and marine resources within the
town.
Mr. Brace gave a brief review of the CCP, detailing the USFWS’
three proposed options it wrote up to choose from for the
management of its 21 acres of the tip of Great Point. He said that
Option A is the take-no-action option under which the status quo,
the current cooperative management by the Trustees of
Reservations, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the
USFWS of Great Point, the Galls, Coatue and Coskata would
continue. Under Option B, the USFWS’ preferred option, Option
A’s management plan would continue with several enhancements
including the addition of a USFWS visitor service employee, a trail
cut from the lighthouse to the point for people to walk out to the
point when it was closed and year-round monitoring of shorebird
and seal activity. Additionally, the USFWS would take a more
active, cooperative role helping the TTOR and NCF manage their
properties. Also, under Option B, the USFWS wants to acquire
1,790 acres of land elsewhere on the island to put into
conservation, designate Coatue as a National Natural Historic
Landmark, acquire Great Point Lighthouse from the U.S. Coast
Guard and build an educational building where the Wauwinet
gatehouse is today. With Option C, the USFWS would severely
restrict oversand vehicle and pedestrian access to Great Point.
Dr. Boyce noted that the USFWS also wants to partner with the
Maria Mitchell Association for educational programs. He added
that their holdings are only 21 acres and that the current
management is working well right now. Mr. Blount agreed with
Dr. Boyce. Mr. Blount and Ms. McRae both agreed with Mr. Brace
and Dr. Boyce that the USFWS should choose Option A.
Mr. Blount noted that as recently as the late 1970s to the mid
1980s, the lagoon on Great Point was open to Nantucket Sound
and supported a healthy population of bay scallops. All members
agreed that access to that resource should be protect in whatever
option is chosen.
Dr. Boyce asked if Mr. Herr and Ms. Riley had any comments on
the CCP. Mr. Herr said he had not read the plan, so he felt he
couldn’t comment constructively. Ms. Riley said she wanted to
ensure that access to Coskata Pond for aquaculture uses and
recreational and commercial fishing. Dr. Boyce said that the Maria
Mitchell Association is currently housing USFWS employees and
in turn, using the USFWS boat to expand their access to resources
to further their own cause.
Dr. Boyce summed up HSAB’s concerns for the BOS as follows:
Option A should be preferred management plan option, continued
access to Coskata Pond and the lagoon on Great Point for all
fishing and shellfishing purposes, that the board supports the
USFWS’ aim to keep beach fishing as one of the primary uses of
the refuge, but that, as Ms. McRae and Mr. Blount suggested,
HSAB expects the USFWS to maintain access to the refuge for all
types of fishing in perpetuity. Also, that HSAB does not support
the USFWS acquiring 1,790 additional acres of land on Nantucket.
Mr. Herr asked how the seal situation is going. Mr. Blount
indicated that whenever he’s out fishing off shore, he regularly
sees them near Monomoy Island in varying numbers, but overall,
“dramatically” less. Mr. Herr noted that if Option B is chosen and
approved as the plan there would be continued conflicts between
fishermen, seals and the USFWS, and said he is concerned about
how much control Nantucket would have in resolving this conflict.
Mr. Blount said that if great white shark numbers are increasing in
our waters, they would reduce the seal population significantly.
Mr. Brace reported he interviewed a seal researcher who told him
that the gray seal is still federally listed as rare but that a
reassessment of their status is in the works this fall because the
populations are expanding exponentially. Mr. Blount said Mr.
Brace’s assessment of the gray seal population on the East Coast
was accurate.
Ms. McRae made a motion that HSAB recommend to the
selectmen that they prefer Option A, in addition to HSAB’s other
concerns, for the USFWS’ CCP for the Nantucket National
Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Blount seconded Ms. McRae’s motion. The
board voted unanimously to approve Ms. McRae’s motion.
Adjournment: 5:21 p.m.
Mr. Brace motioned for adjournment. Ms. McRae seconded. The
board unanimously voted to adjourn
Next Meetings:
Oct. 4 and 18, 2011
Respectfully submitted,
Peter B. Brace, Secretary