At Monday’s Edgartown select board meeting, Island director of the Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) Darci Schofield gave an update on the controversial beach management plan, which was recently rescinded after getting overwhelmingly negative feedback from residents Island-wide.
A report compiled of community response to the 49-page draft plan, which will be available at the end of the month, will aid in the effort to launch the “new phase” of the plan, Schofield said.
This time around, Schofield said, TTOR will be working with representatives from the community’s beach users, stakeholders, and interest groups to create a beach management plan that suits the Island’s environmental and recreational needs. “We’re starting over again,” Schofield said.
In other business, the select board approved the filing of a joint application with Martha’s Vineyard Museum in an effort to secure funds to help finance repairs to Edgartown Lighthouse through the Community Preservation committee. Martha’s Vineyard Museum executive director Heather Seger told the select board that the lighthouse is in need of “significant capital repair,” per a 2019 evaluation of the historic landmark.
The board approved the 2022–23 bay scallop season, relayed by Edgartown shellfish constable Rob Morrison.
Morrison said the scallop recreational season will begin Oct. 1 through March 31, 2023, with a limit of one 10-gallon bucket per week, per license. Recreational dragging will be allowed beginning at dawn on Oct. 28.
Commercial season will begin Oct. 31 until March 31, 2023. The standard commercial limit is three 10-gallon buckets per day, Monday through Friday, 7 am to 4 pm.
