The Watershed Vol. 8, No. 1

The Oyster Pond Environmental Trust Newsletter, Winter 2003

OPET, P.O. Box 496, Woods Hole, MA 02543-0496

OPET Board meetings are open to all OPET members. Meetings are usually held on the third Sunday of the month, at 4 pm, in the Treetops Clubhouse. We'd love to have you come! For information call 508-540-7345.

OPET does not have an official phone, but you can leave a message call 508-540-7345.
We'll gladly get back to you! Or email Email OPET or Wendi Buesseler. And do visit our website, www.opet.org.

OPET Officers and Directors

Officers

Robert King
President

Eric Davidson
Vice President

Bill Kerfoot
Clerk

Barry Norris
Treasurer

Elected for the 2003/04 Term

Directors

Carl Breivogel
Jonathan Davis
John Dowling
Susan Gagosian
Melinda Hall
Dana Rodin
Arthur Silverstein
Peter Valtin
Martin White

Honorary Boardmember

Robert Livingstone

Wendi Buesseler joins OPET as

Part-Time Consultant

A warm welcome to our newest member of the Oyster Pond Environmental Trust, Wendi Buesseler. As a part-time consultant, Wendi will help manage the ever-increasing responsibilities that face a conservation trust today. She will be actively involved with the OPET board members concerning our outreach programs, newsletter, and act as ombudsman with town, regional, and state governing bodies.

Growing up in Southern California, Wendi developed a keen interest in land and water conservation due to the urban sprawl and unchecked development in her community. This experience led to a B.A. in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of California at San Diego and later an M.B.A. in Urban and Environmental Policyt and Planning from Tufts University.

Wendi moved to Falmouth in 1982 with her husband, Dr. Ken Buesseler, who was a graduate student in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program with MIT. Ken is now a Senior Scientist and Department Chair at WHOI. They have two daughters, Lydia, a freshman at Falmouth High School, and Hannah, a 6th grader at Morse Pond School. An avid gardener, Wendi also enjoys cooking different types of cuisines. Since moving to the Cape, Wendi has worked for environmental consulting firms and has gradually increased her involvement as a volunteer with several conservation and environmental non-profit organizations. Currently she is the Chair of the Coonamessett River Park Coalition, Chair of the Natural Resources Committee of the

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De-Nitrifying Septic System

To Be Installed at 110 Oyster Pond Road

By Peter Valtin
Construction started in late September on a 2-story home at 110 Oyster Pond Road. This lot, while nominally over an acre, is mostly in the pond. Hence, the plan for sewage disposal on this site has attracted the interest of the OPET board.

As many of you know, one of the primary determinants of water quality and ecological health in a pond like Oyster Pond is nitrogen pollution.

Nitrogen comes into the pond through the air (from power plants and cars) and through ground water (mainly from residential septic systems). Nitrogen pollution is highly correlated with eutrophication - nasty smelling water due to excessive growth of algae and other plants.
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. 		Several Cape organizations have worked hard to raise awareness of the problems posed by nitrogen pollution. Leading the pack is the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), which annually puts on a day-long Watershed Fair to highlight the movement of pollutants - particularly nitrogen - through a watershed and into open bodies of water. According to its Director Christine Gault, WBNERR sponsors ongoing research into (Continued on Page Three)
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This page updated January 15, 2004