Tashmoo is a management problem

To the Editor:

Alley’s, OSV permits, a Tashmoo anchoring moratorium, housing crisis; it’s all the same feeling. We’re rapidly losing the culture which helped attract the near doubling of Martha’s Vineyard’s population in the past 25 years. We’ve always coexisted, but the pendulum has swung too far, and Vineyard culture has become critically endangered.

Martha Goes to Beacon Hill Thursday, and a housing bank is critical for cultural preservation equally as much as the Land Bank is for natural preservation. Without the Land Bank, this Island would be a very different place. “Neither a sanctuary program nor a park system, it is a middle ground where the highest virtues of conservation can be realized: public enjoyment of nature, where limits and restraint secure the natural world’s future and prosperity.”

The public enjoyment of nature responsibly, and its preservation for future generations’ enjoyment, is the exact reason why everyone loves M.V. so much — it’s just so unique in the world today. The balance of local and seasonal has always been respected, and its conjecture, but there seems to be a correlation between public access issues and the increase in waterfront megamansions and cyanobacteria.

The issue with anchoring in Tashmoo is not eelgrass, it’s management. With significantly restricted anchoring zones and a scallop-dragging ban enacted in 2017, eelgrass beds have stayed relatively the same since 2013, according to the 2022 DMF eelgrass survey. Even though the MVC tests show Tashmoo among the highest water-quality indexes of Vineyard ponds, water quality is the issue with eelgrass. Stormwater and fertilizer account for 13 percent of the controllable nitrogen loading in Tashmoo, and are sources the town hasn’t meaningfully addressed in the six years since the Massachusetts Estuary Projects TMDL release.

The anchoring “problem” is that on weekends for two months a year, people in boats go and enjoy the area by the mouth of Tashmoo. This is one of the two restricted anchoring zones. A picture of this “problem” was shown on a five-foot screen during the discussion, and drew a slight gasp from the room when first presented; an overhead drone shot of 70-plus boats to the right of the channel, of which a dozen boats are on moorings, and 20 of are illegally anchored in front of the red nun by/on the clam flats. Two boats are anchored in the channel, and many who are navigating into or out of Tashmoo have nothing to do with that scene. That’s the most boats I’ve ever seen out there. I don’t like that picture anymore than anyone else. Who’s handling those navigational hazards in the channel? If it’s only a few hours on weekends in summer, then how were that many boats illegally anchored? Why are those lawns on the water so big and green, when the brown drought patch atop the screen is so pronounced? How much nitrogen is leaching off those lawns?

The drone picture taken from August 2020 seems to be the smoking gun. After being told to stay inside for months, the safest thing anyone could be doing during that period of history was following the direction to socially distance. That was the hottest stretch of the year, and we all remember how strange that summer was. That picture looks like people were enjoying one of the most special places in the world socially distanced. It’s no wonder it was so crowded, and many illegally anchored boaters probably weren’t even aware of their infractions. I question the intent of taking that picture in the context of what was going on then in the world. Perspective is important, but if so bothered, call the harbormaster — there’s lots of glaring enforcement issues in that picture. I came to find out that was taken by the assistant harbormaster at the time. Was he on paid town time flying that drone? Who was mastering the harbor when that picture was taken? It’s no wonder so many day boaters got so comfortable over the years; anchoring is a management issue exemplified in that picture. We apparently don’t have the bandwidth to master our harbors on weekends in the summer, so an anchoring moratorium first, then, down the road, figuring out expensive pilings or monetized moorings is thought to be the easiest solution to fix the weather-dependent, weekend summer “problem.”

It seems there is no plan past pilings by design. No costs, proposed locations of each, permitting plan, or even clear understanding if permits are needed. The waterways committee is presenting its recommendation for the first time during the hearing, which warrants a discussion of its own. Instead of driving pilings into Tashmoo, or installing moorings, which may take years to figure out, Tisbury needs to find a “middle ground where the highest virtues of conservation can be realized.” Manage the harbor, limit and permit anchoring though the town website, or just ban anchoring in July and August so homeowners don’t have to look at boaters. Let us have a little speck of sand that fits only 10 boats, well away from any eelgrass, to anchor and access the clam flats, cleanest water in Tashmoo, and world-class sunsets from September to June. That’s the least complicated and cheapest middle ground that balances public enjoyment with the long-term goals of preservation.

MacAleer Schilcher
Tisbury