Land Bank exploring wildfire mitigation plan

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission is considering a new wildfire mitigation plan that would involve taking out some vegetation in the Wapatequa Woods Reservation. 

The commission had concerns about ecological impacts to the area; members are requesting more information, and want to visit the site before agreeing to implement the plan.

Land superintendent Harrison Kisiel told the commission on Monday afternoon that people from various agencies have been looking at wildfire risks on the Island over the past year. 

“Right now, the group is underway in trying to get a grant to complete some projects here on the Island,” he said. “Part of this grant would include Wapatequa.”

Kisiel said the Tisbury Fire Department found that a portion of the preserve could serve as a “soft firebreak,” which could help stop the spread of wildfires. A firebreak is a strip of land that can be cleared of vegetation to slow wildfires. 

The area identified is around the Sailors’ Burying Ground and the trail system, from the northern portion of Wapatequa to the property’s southern trailhead. According to Kisiel, the area is six to eight feet wide, and the fire department is looking to widen it to a 12-feet-wide, 14-foot-high corridor. 

“A real firebreak is going to be 25 feet wide,” Kisiel said, adding that other parts of the grant could include creating a firebreak with the Nature Conservancy elsewhere, and installing six new fire hydrants.

A couple of commissioners expressed concern over the ecological impact the widening could have to Wapatequa. 

“Clearing usually introduces [invasive species], and I see no invasives on that route. It’s kind of pristine,” Tisbury commissioner Nancy Weaver said, adding concerns over the carbon footprint produced by the work, and the trees that would need to be cut down for the soft firebreak. “I’d like to walk it with the fire chief, and I think it should be a site visit, which would then be open to the public.” 

Weaver said if this approach was the “wave of the future,” more input should be received before advancing. 

Aquinnah commissioner Sarah Thulin echoed a need for a site visit. “I’m not ready to make any decision,” she said. 

Kisiel was in favor of taking people out to the site. The commission unanimously approved going forward with a site visit.