Page Three of The Watershed, Vol. 6, No. 1, Summer 2001

Vista Pruning

FACT: Unobstructed views from a house on a pond are nice! But trees and bushes along the shore are important for the pond's health!

Why Trees and Bushes Along Pond Shores are More Important than Vistas. Last winter trees were cut along a section of the Treetops pond shoreline - undoubtedly for a better view of Martha's Vineyard. But did you know that the Wetlands Protection Act forbids most landscaping activities -- and definitely tree cutting -- within 100 ft of a shoreline without express permission from the Falmouth Conser-vation Commission (ConComm)? A vegetation buffer zone of at least 100 feet is crucial for the wellbeing of ponds, especially of ponds under pressure from lots of septic sys-tems in its watershed, like Oyster Pond. Trees and brush in this buffer zone intercept fertilizer and pesti-cide runoff from the yards behind, they stabilize the soil, prevent shore erosion and afford suitable habitat to lots of critters relating to the pond. A wetlands pro-per-ty owner caught cutting trees without a permit from ConComm, will have to appear for a hearing before the Commission and may have to undertake expensive remedial action to mitigate the dam-age inflicted on the buffer zone. Moral? Think thrice before doing that vista pruning: once for the benefit of the pond, once for saving you the time to appear at a hearing, and once more for keeping the money in your pocket!
B. Rose

Tree Tops' Pruning Along Oyster Pond, Winter 2001. Photo by E. Hahn

POND SAMPLINGS

POND LEVEL

Since the repair of the jetties and the associated dredging of Trunk River, the pond level has dropped 9 inches to the target level of the Oyster Pond Management plan. For the first time since its construction, the weir finally is the element in the Oyster Pond-Lagoon-Trunk River system that controls the pond level.

SALINITY

As a consequence of the dredging of Trunk River at the end of December, salinity of the pond has risen to 2 parts per thousand (ppt). Most of the salinity increase probably derived from storm tides associated with strong nor'easters, but nocturnal spring high tides (at full and new moon) have also reached the pond since the dredging (See Student Projects). Pond salinity is now also within the target limits of the Oyster Pond Management plan!

MOSQUITOES

Last summer, late OPET Board member James Ferguson of the Moors initiated a study on mosquitoes on Oyster Pond by the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project. From July 27 to September 25, Gabrielle Sakolsky of the Project trapped mosquitoes at the Treetops end of the pond and conducted larval surveys in the marshy area along Oyster Pond Rd. Freshwater mosquitoes made up the majority of trapped mosquitoes, with a few brackish species and a single member of a saltwater species among them. She found no larvae during that period.

In Memoriam: Jim Ferguson

OPET Board Member Dr. James J. Ferguson died this past winter. Jim is missed sorely by the Board, for whom he always had good suggestions. He and his wife Pat have generously contributed to OPET towards the purchase of the Zinn Park. In his will, Jim left a further large donation to OPET. Last summer, on behalf of OPET, Jim initiated a study of Oyster Pond mosquitoes by the Barnstable Co. Mosquito Control and attended hearings on the creation of a drinking water and wildlife reserve at the Otis Massachusetts Military Reservation. An MD by training, Jim turned to research in biochemistry, and had a long and distinguished academic career. Jim loved music, played the flute, delighted in sailing, skiing, and gardening. He particularly loved Oyster Pond.

In keeping with OPET's environmentally sound mission, this newsletter is printed on recycled paper and was written using recycled pixels and bytes.

To Page Four of The Watershed V. 6, No. 1

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This page updated September 25, 2002