Summit on Lagoon Weighs Dredging, Controlling Growth

By JULIA WELLS

Dredge the pond. Control growth. Upgrade septic systems. Encourage homeowners to curb the use of high-nitrogen fertilizers on their lawns.

These were the central themes this week when an array of shellfish officials and Vineyard residents gathered for a summit meeting of sorts to discuss the latest water quality crisis in the Lagoon Pond.

Sovereignty is in the news these days.

It's in Rhode Island, where tempers are running hot in an ongoing skirmish between the Narragansett Indian Tribe and state attorney general over whether the tribe can sell tax-free tobacco.

It's in the Hamptons, where the Shinnecock Indian Nation has begun to clear land for a casino, contravening local zoning and state gaming laws.

Lagoon Woes Seen Years Ago

1987 Report on Water Quality Found Problems ‘Particularly During the Summer Months'; Recommended Dredging

A comprehensive study documented water quality problems in the Lagoon Pond 16 years ago, but the recommendations from the study - including a dredging program - were never carried out because of a lack of funding.

At the Troubled Shellfish Hatchery, Good Work Depends on Good Water

By JULIA WELLS

This place runs on water.

Filtered salt water fortified with home-grown algae to feed the baby shellfish. Pure pond water pumped straight from the Lagoon to feed the adolescent shellfish. Fresh water pumped straight from a well to keep everything - as Eloise's aunt would say - clean, clean, clean.

The director of the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group said yesterday that nearly four million healthy juvenile shellfish under culture at his Lagoo

Ferry Fee Proposal Advances in Boston

It Could Only Have Happened This Year: Added Fee of $1 Per Ferry Ticket Is Proposed for Municipal Relief

By JULIA WELLS

A bill chugged along in the state legislature this week that would allow all port communities in the region to charge a fee of $1 per ticket for visitors traveling on ferries.