<p>There are certainly times where removing a dam is biologically sound and the right thing to do, but it’s totally irrelevant at the Mill Pond site. We need that beautiful pond as it is.</p>
I guess it’s time I spoke my piece as discussions increase about the future of West Tisbury’s Mill Pond.
In all my years with wildlife on Martha’s Vineyard — more than 36 years of them as director of Felix Neck — I find it hard to believe that there is a coalition factor now that advocates that there be a mill stream for brook trout where the Mill Pond is. There are certainly times where removing a dam is biologically sound and the right thing to do, but it’s totally irrelevant at the Mill Pond site. We need that beautiful pond as it is.
We already have a healthy brook trout population on the Vineyard. Last December, I was on a private estate on the North Road with a stream in it that was filled with brook trout. There are beautiful brook trout in upper Chilmark Pond. There’s no sound reason to change the Mill Pond. The linear footage of it that the native brook trout would get if the pond were turned into a stream isn’t going to make a big difference. I simply can’t visualize West Tisbury without the Mill Pond. It gives such great pleasure to everyone who passes by.
Anytime I am up-Island, I am always in anticipation of the wildlife I am likely to see on the Mill Pond. In winter, the otters may be up on the ice. There are widgeons and mallards and black ducks there for everyone to see. When I went by the other day, there was a pen — a female swan — with cygnets. How can anyone advocate getting rid of that beautiful pond? West Tisbury without it would be like East Chop without Crystal Lake or Oak Bluffs without Farm Pond. These are beauty spots that belong to the whole Island.
Of course, to preserve the pond in perpetuity, sooner or later you’ll have to dredge, but not necessarily right away. Otherwise, naturally, eutrophication will take place eventually the way it has at Whiting’s Pond — and what a pity that is! How many Islanders have gone skating there when there was ice and they were young?
Naturally, in the eutrophication process, there’s a time when a pond will be very productive. As emergent vegetation grows, it provides cover for a large variety of living organisms. That process will go on for a number of years, but then the pond becomes drier and soon there’s no longer the biological diversity that there was when the wetland was a pond.
I totally respect different opinions on different subjects, but I see no positives in letting the Mill Pond go to eutrophication, or in turning it into a stream. It’s phenomenal for its wildlife just the way it is with ospreys circling overhead, rails, snipe, snapping turtles, painted turtles and lampreys. Are we also going to get rid of Priester’s Pond, Crocker Pond and Fisher Pond on the North Road? This series of ponds is host to hundreds of species of flora and fauna. They, like the Mill Pond, are manmade ponds.
The Mill Pond is the picture-perfect centerpiece of West Tisbury and a major scenic attraction for visitors to the Island from all over the world. As a naturalist, I really can never wait to go by that pond. What a loss it would be to turn that beautiful, wildlife-rich pond into a trout stream!
Augustus Ben David is a noted wildlife expert who lives in Edgartown.
Comments
Hear, hear!
Aron Levy Longview Rd WTHear, hear!
Thank you, Mr. Ben David, for
A Lover and Resident of West Tisbury West Tisbury, thank God!Thank you, Mr. Ben David, for your heartfelt piece. I have always felt that the Mill Pond is an iconic part of the West Tisbury landscape. It is an aesthetically pleasing one and a refuge for wildlife, as you point out, but in addition, is a gentle reminder of West Tisbury's history, its past.
I am appalled by the narrow, single-minded focus of a member of our Conservation Commission on getting rid of the Mill Pond, either through concrete actions such as legislation, or, as we are currently seeing, by "benign neglect", allowing and encouraging the eutrophication of the pond through encroaching vegetation, etc., all in the name of "preserving our wetlands" and "water quality".
Thank you again for your description of our much-loved center of the West Tisbury landscape.
Thank you, Gus, for saying so
tom hodgson wtThank you, Gus, for saying so well what many people feel about the prospect of losing the Mill Pond. The loss of the Mill Pond would also include the loss of a major piece of seventeenth and eighteenth century history. The building of these early ponds and mills were key for the early English settlers. They were where you went to get your grain ground into meal.
I've walked, fished, and walked the Mill Brook and the Tiasquam River for about sixty years now. Both streams have had ponds added in these years. These "new" (now decades old) ponds have contributed to warming the water at the lower reaches of these streams. The place to help restore trout-friendliness to these systems is upstream, not at the tail-ends. I would also assert that septic system nutrients from our increased population and increased water use has impacted these brooks. In the last 20-30 years, summer algae blooms have been obvious in the lower ponds. On the Tiasquam, in Looks Pond and Douglas Pond, and on the Mill Brook in the Mill Pond. Wouldn't decent fish ladders at each dam would be one of best things we could do for these brooks?
Well said!
Jeanne Barron West TisburyWell said!
Thank you Gus for your
Anna Alley West TisburyThank you Gus for your thoughts on West Tisbury's Mill Pond. Your expertise on Vineyard wildlife is legendary, and your advice is helpful.
All is not lost yet. The Town wants to see the results of the Mill Brook Watershed study before further consideration of the fate of our historic Mill Pond is decided. Please continue to educate us all. Sincere thanks, Anna Alley, Member, West Tisbury Mill Pond Committee
West Tisbury wouldn't have
Nancy Dole West TisburyWest Tisbury wouldn't have become West Tisbury without the Mill Pond, the Town was created around it, and I can't imagine that anyone would not treasure the pond for everything it continues to provide our town today, hundreds of years later. Thanks Gus, for your sensible thoughts.
Thank you Gus for bringing
Brian Smith West TisburyThank you Gus for bringing some sanity to this discussion. I respect the thoughts of those who want to return this area to swampland but , seriously, this is a major tourist asset to the town and an object of beauty for the community. Maybe we should also consider eliminating parking on the Ag Hall fields during the fair, just think of the ants and spiders we are endangering!
Gus,
Jill Bouck West TisburyGus,
Thanks for taking the time to hit the nail on the head of this important issue. As usual you have shared your knowledge, wisdom and commitment to the Vineyard's natural world by weighing in here.
Totally, Gus. While the Mill
Lanny McDowell Vineyard HavenTotally, Gus. While the Mill Pond is a desirable central feature of West Tisbury, it is also an all-Island treasure which so many folks, visitor and resident, appreciate.
My heart is aching at the
Truthteller CAMy heart is aching at the thought of changing the Mill Pond in any way. It has been a prominent feature of my spiritual life for over forty five years....after each loss of a loved one I drive up to the Mill Pond for it soothes my soul. For some of us, it is a part of our spiritual lives and journeys and, therefore, irreplaceable.
Thanks for weighing in Gus.
Dredge It Vineyard HavenThanks for weighing in Gus. Most islanders respect your intimate knowledge of our island ecosystems. Destroying habitat by draining the pond to try to bring back the brookies is a fools errand. I also see many other impacts as you mentioned on other species which are just as important . I believe when its drained the wetlands to the (west ?), which is extensive,will dry up and all of those species breeding and feeding in there are out of luck. Our favorite choir of spring peepers , which is amazing left as is will probably be negatively impacted .
Love the well crafted
James ChilmarkLove the well crafted position on the Mill Pond but Gus, where are the brook trout in Upper Chilmark Pond? It's been pretty dead this very dry year.
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