The Watershed
OPET is offering a different format for this year's annual meeting. Rather than one speaker there will be a panel discussion on the Long Term Management Options for Trunk River and Oyster Pond. Invited speakers include: Dr. Brian Howes, Estuaries Project; John Ramsey, coastal engineer; Jennifer MacKay, Falmouth Conservation Commission,: George Calise, Falmouth Engineering Depart.; Chuck Martinson, Falmouth Herring Warden and Jo Ann Muramoto, Coastal Resources Committee.
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This seasonal buildup requires seasonal maintenance. The blocked river is a dilemma for the Oyster Pond's herring. Each year the river must be opened in early spring for returning herring to spawn and again for adults and their fry in the fall to exit.
In addition, this dammed lagoon heats up, cooking up a stew of nutrient rich water and eelgrass to form huge mats of algae. Last summer was especially bad as Cladaphora glomerata spread across the surface of the lagoon (see Winter 2004 newsletter at www.opet.org for photos). The trapped water also became depleted in oxygen, building up hydrogen sulphide sufficient to be toxic to fish. Swift cooperation between town officials and hard labor by Americorp volunteers opened up the clogged river last summer. The draining Oyster Pond restored oxygen levels and improved fresh water flushing to the lagoon reducing the Cladaphora. Unfortunately, we may see a repeat of the Cladaphora growth in the lagoon this year. Will we have to continually rely on people power or machine dredging to keep this channel open or are there other methods? Should a seasonal removable trap gate be installed to prevent the inflow of seaweed? All this will be discussed at the meeting on July 26th. 
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Pretty to look at, colorful to see, but the
exotic
invasives purple loosestrife and common reed
phragmites are bullying
their way into Oyster
Pond's ecosystem.
Both species are aggressively crowding out our native plants as first reported in our Winter 2000 Newsletter (available on our web site). This is a big problem for our local birds, mammals, butterflies and amphibians that depend on native plants for food and shelter. A new volunteer group, the Wetlands Invasives Steering Committee (WISC) led by Dr. Richard Payne is trying to do something about these invaders in Falmouth. |
"Exotic" invasive plants are plants introduced
from other parts of the world.
Lacking their native, natural controls, they can spread rapidly in our ecosystems and thrive in a variety of environments. Many are garden escapees that develop self-sustaining populations that dominate or disrupt natural ecosystems. Phragmites or common reed (Phragmites australis) form dense almost impenetrable stands that can reach 15 ft. high (seen in the Trunk River photo) ... (Continued on Page Three) |
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Long time OPET members know about the continuous problem of keeping the Trunk River channel open to maintain outflow from Oyster Pond. Winter storms, especially those with a strong southeast wind, push large amounts of eelgrass and fine sand up Trunk River into the lagoon. As there is not a correspondingly strong outflow from Oyster Pond to push this debris back out, it piles up creating a blockage at the lagoon entrance. This prevents the control weir from regulating water levels in the Pond.