Worried about environmental damage, Tisbury officials are scheduled to talk about a potential moratorium on March 8.
Lake Tashmoo, which has attracted visiting boaters in the summer season for decades, may not be so welcoming this year.
Worried about environmental damage, Tisbury officials are considering a potential moratorium on anchoring in the popular estuary. The select board will dive into the issue at a public hearing March 8.
“The intent [is] to allow other committees, boards and other interested bodies to weigh on the concept of restricting or imposing a moratorium on anchors in Lake Tashmoo,” town administrator John (Jay) Grande said at Wednesday’s select board meeting.
“I know there are strong opinions on both sides of that discussion,” said Mr. Grande, who told the board he has been collaborating with the town shellfish constable and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to develop a watershed management plan for Lake Tashmoo.
Stormwater, wastewater and activities on the pond are all being considered in the watershed plan, he said.
A draft of the management plan is almost ready for select board review, but Mr. Grande would like to see anchoring suspended until an environmental study is completed and the plan is put in place.
“Until we absolutely know, we should not be risking the health of that pond any further,” he said.
Tisbury oyster farmer Jeffrey Canha wanted the board to go a step further. He pushed for a complete anchoring ban in all Tisbury waterways, except in areas specifically designated by the town.
“There’s a lot of nefarious activity with anchoring in [Lagoon Pond],” Mr. Canha said. “With a broad brush stroke you can take care of a lot of this.”
Longtime Tisbury boater Lynne Fraker opposed an anchoring ban, saying she thinks it isn’t needed.
“I love Tashmoo and people want to enjoy Tashmoo and should be able to enjoy Tashmoo,” she said.
Mr. Grande said the draft watershed management plan for Lake Tashmoo will be ready for select board review later in March.
The town also needs a new pump-out boat for Tashmoo, Mr. Grande told the board. Pump-out boats remove sewage from vessels’ waste tanks and dispose of it in the town’s wastewater system.
He learned last week that the existing pump-out boat is past its useful life and can’t be guaranteed not to fail, posing an unacceptable risk to the waterway. The lead time needed to buy a new pump-out boat is six to eight months, he said, so the replacement vessel won’t arrive until after the summer season.
Mr. Grande is now looking for alternative plans for how the town could deal with wastewater pump-out service in Lake Tashmoo, including potentially bringing in the Vineyard Haven harbor pump-out vessel and making other arrangements for pump-outs in the harbor.
Comments
As a long time visitor to
Larry Backman FalmouthAs a long time visitor to Tashmoo, I’d hate to see an outright ban.
I think you have a major weekend control issue that needs to be addressed.
My polite opinion is that anchoring should be restricted and instead a carefully designed number of mooring balls should be put in with a limited number of boats allowed to raft to one ball.
Personally I’d far prefer tieing up to a ball then dealing with tashmoo mud on my anchored I’m happy to pay a nominal 10-20$ fee for that privilege.
Great Idear
Dave C FalmouthGreat Idear
Derelict pump out boat. Known
Thomas F. TisburyDerelict pump out boat. Known to need replacement yet no action. Wake up Tisbury! The cookie is crumbling all around us.
Why is the Tisbury Town
Lynne Fraker Vineyard HavenWhy is the Tisbury Town Administrator bypassing the Waterways Advisory Committee when trying to establish a watershed management plan for Tashmoo? This has been a closed-door discussion and not one Waterways member was even invited to participate. No notice of any planning meetings. This follows a continual pattern of disrespect for the Waterways Committee. The Town Administrator did not say the reason for a proposed moratorium on anchoring was for environmental reasons, he stated this was for quality of life. These boats pose little environmental threat, water quality testing shows that. The real environmental issue is along the pond's edges with so much building, destruction of significant vegetation, septic issues, non-enforcement of fertilizer regulations, rain, and major road runoff to name a few. Vineyard Conservation put out a video explaining all this and there are no anchored boats in the Great Ponds! There definitely needs to be management and reduction of the number of day boats using Tashmoo. I have asked for a management plan for Tashmoo for years with no response from the Natural Resource Dpt which has done nothing to manage this anchorage. I have submitted a proposal to reduce the number of boats, providing some income for the Town. Waterways Committee has wasted their valuable time starting to come up with a plan only to be surprised that the Town Administrator has already come up with a plan on his own. When a private group gets the ear of the Town Administrator, and even the Select Board is kept out of the loop, this is a problem. If this public hearing is anything like the public hearing for Waterways Regulations there is little hope for a fair decision. The Town Administrator should not be managing the Tisbury Waterways. The Administrator and the Select Board know where the weaknesses are. Fix that then let the Tisbury Waterways Committee do their job. The Lagoon is the waterbody in really bad shape.
Thanks for caring young lady
George Stein OBThanks for caring young lady
I would love to see mooring
Peter Stam Vineyard HavenI would love to see mooring balls with limited rafting and a day rate and overnight separate rate. I do agree with Lynne that why do we have an advisory committee if we ignore it.
I just want to say what a
James Kozak Vineyard HavenI just want to say what a fabulous photo of Lake Tashmoo that accompanies this important story.
Congratulations to Tim Johnson.
Comments
frank brunelle Vineyard HavenLynne:
I tried to support you and also recommended that Jay resign. Not particularly for your issue, which is reason enough, but for an administration that screwed up the drawbridge, let the SUP drag out for over 10 years without taking a stand against the dangerous SUP, for falsely supporting my bid to expose the drawbridge flaws, for the absurdly badly planned school project and costs, for not allowing any discussion on the park or the gates on the drawbridge, which could and should be corrected (the wrong angle of entry and exit can never be fixed), and all of this and more and all of it wholeheartedly supported by the Gazette. So, I am with you. Just cannot get it in print.
The environmental issue is
Jonathan Oak BluffsThe environmental issue is primarily about nitrogen from unmaintained septics and from runoff from lawn chemicals. Fix these things and a few small boats tied up, one way or the other, will not have an impact. Restrict the larger boats.
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