The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank does not expect to fully open the Squibnocket Pond Reservation until 2025 due to the long permitting process.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank does not expect to fully open the Squibnocket Pond Reservation until 2025 due to the long permitting process.
The land bank commission voted Monday to approve state-imposed changes to the management plan for the reservation, a 336-acre Aquinnah property composed of land from the former Red Gate Farm.
First acquired in a joint purchase by the land bank and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in 2020, the property was slated to be open in summer 2023 before being delayed by an unusually long state review.
According to land bank superintendent Harrison Kisiel, they are now looking at a partial opening between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2024, and a full opening in the summer of 2025.
“The recommendations are following a very responsible approach to how we’re going to manage this,” said Aquinnah land bank commissioner Sarah Thulin, of the state revisions to the management plan.
Among the changes required by the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which reviews all land bank management plans, are a prohibition of horses on the trails, not allowing dogs on the southern portion of the property, increased staffing, fencing for shorebird protection and limiting access on a portion of the beach during June and August.
The office also required the land bank to return the plan to the state for review after five years.
“I think the changes are appropriate in terms of…some of the public concerns that we heard,” Ms. Thulin said.
The management plan will have to come before the Aquinnah conservation commission and planning board for final approvals.
Comments
Unbelievable that dogs will
Judy Franklin AquinnahUnbelievable that dogs will be prohibited year round. It’s one thing to prohibit dogs from beaches during shorebird nesting season, but prohibiting dogs from hundreds of acres of upland woods year round is purely punitive.
The state is out of touch
Bernie WTThe state is out of touch with locals and our needs. Limiting access to portions of the beach during the summer months, limiting dog walking, and delaying the opening time and time again. We need more local control of our public lands.
Red Gate Farm had a rich
Brian R. WTRed Gate Farm had a rich history of prime waterfowl hunting and I was excited for the public to be able to hunt on this fabulous property. Restricting dogs on the southern portion, however, all but prohibits waterfowl hunting because dogs are needed to retrieve downed fowl. The long and vibrant history of waterfowl hunting on Martha's Vineyard is slowly being eroded.
We have a dearth of publicly
Lilian ChilmarkWe have a dearth of publicly accessible south shore beaches on Martha's Vineyard. This acquisition, made with tax payer dollars, would have greatly expanded the amount of beach available to the public. I'm sad to see that much of the beach will be closed during the peak summer season.
So, land bank has effectively
Danny East ChopSo, land bank has effectively made a hard-to-reach spot off limits.
That’s failure in my eyes.
No horses?? I am so thankful
Kara O’SullivanNo horses?? I am so thankful that I was able to experience the Island back in the day when I could jump on a pony bareback and ride the intricate web of roads & trails relatively safely and unimpeded. What a gift learning how to share and care for a trail was to my developing sense of responsibility and stewardship. I continue to mourn the increasing loss of access to special places and the demise of ‘trail’ etiquette that appears to go hand in hand with modern life and land management- however well-meaning.
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