Restore Mill Brook

It’s been called the Cranberry Wars, and that conflict offers  lessons that Islanders can learn from today. The period was not long ago, just across the Sound on Cape Cod, when the cranberry industry was moving inland to cheaper land,  residents debated what to do with the vacant but still popular bogs. The wide-open expanses dot the Cape landscape with their red hues — a perfect place for sunset walks or pond-hockey games in winter, when the bogs are flooded and frozen over.

On one hand, historians and cranberry farmers wanted to honor a tradition that had been a part of the community for generations — working the land. 

But environmentalists, noting that the landscapes were not beneficial to biodiversity, and were in fact choking out native species, wanted to return them to the ecosystems that were there long before the mills, before European colonization and industrialization, back to the cold streams snaking around Atlantic white cedar and other native species once prevalent. 

Eventually, that environmental movement became a reality in several parts of Massachusetts, thanks to tribal, federal, state, local, and a plethora of other agencies and partnerships.

In Falmouth, the restoration of the Coonamessett River, a river system that was long farmed for cranberries, is a nod to the success of that movement. Several years ago, the top of the bogs were ripped back by excavators, and the river was restored to a version of what it once was. Today, there’s a charming path that encircles the wetland, and if you visit, the first thing you’ll notice is the sound of red-winged blackbirds. 

Remarkably, seeds that were buried for centuries during the industrial periods are creeping through the groundcover; fish have returned in larger numbers. Life feels abundant. What is absent are complaints about what was lost — the once iconic bogs and poor water quality. 

There is a similar debate that has been playing out in West Tisbury over Mill Pond. Similar to the cranberry wars, Islanders are asking the question, How do we respect our history and stand up for the aesthetics that we like, versus restoring a river system to what it should be naturally?

The debate has come to the forefront in recent weeks, following the public release of data collected by the Mill Brook Watershed Committee, which has been asked to help chart a path forward for the town. Committee members — a dedicated group with scientific backgrounds — collected data over several years, and made a presentation to a rapt audience a few weeks ago. 

Their data is nothing to ignore. While you might not see it on the surface of the iconic Mill Pond, their numbers paint a grim picture of the type of impacts that humans have had over generations. Put simply, the manmade impediments have slowed the Mill Brook water system considerably, to the point where it is choking out life. 

When a river slows down, it spends more time baking in the  sun, and doesn’t get oxygen. The general rule of thumb for water quality in a cold brook is that the temperature should not exceed 68°. It’s a standard all agencies follow. Above that, fish and other species start having issues. Algae bloom. Bad things happen.

According to the committee’s findings, the temperature in Mill Pond exceeds that 68° mark for pretty much the entire summer. There were times when the temperature reached nearly 90°. 

The other issue is dissolved oxygen. Without oxygen, fish and other species, understandably, can’t function. The committee found that in the summer, dissolved oxygen levels were below acceptable levels one-third of the time. As a result, native species are not abundant, as they should be.

The data from the community point very glaringly at removing a dam that keeps Mill Pond, well, Mill Pond. By removing a small dam, the pond will give way for the brook that once was there, and the river could be restored to what it should be — free-flowing, cold, with plenty of oxygen.

Removing the impediment is the right thing to do. With the right plans and study, returning the pond to its native river will help to allow biodiversity to return and flourish. It will bring life back. And it has the potential to not only create something that the community will be proud of, it can help tell the story and history of West Tisbury and the Island.

There have been fears voiced recently that unlocking the pond would unleash a load of toxins. This is disingenuous. Any decision to remove the pond’s infrastructure would be studied — it will need approvals from multiple agencies, which would require investigation. Any concerns could be thoroughly vetted. 

There is an alternative proposal to dredge the pond. While a possibility, it would require recurring expenses and upkeep, and there are questions: What will happen to the dredged material? Most importantly, it won’t fix the underlying issue of a slow-moving river.

We should say that restoring the pond is not the be-all and end-all. There will still be a lot of work to go with other impoundments. But the pond is a natural place to start because it’s owned by the town, and it has the authority to take action there, unlike other places. 

We sympathize with the fear that the history of West Tisbury and an iconic part of the town could be lost. But we also believe that if the town decides to go through with restoration, there will be ample opportunity to not only tell the story of the Island’s proud agricultural roots, it could even do more.

Back in Falmouth and the Coonamessett River, surrounding the river system are plaques that tell the evolution of the river from indigenous times, when locals harvested fish in the river, to the mills that channeled the river for the lumber and other industries, to cranberry farming, and finally to the restored river. West Tisbury could make that happen here as well.

Maybe a better question for West Tisbury is, What history do we want to honor, and what history are we leaving out, by not returning the brook to its glory? The indigenous once fished the brook before Europeans arrived. Are we ignoring that history by preserving the pond?

Learning from other examples of restoration projects, there’s an exciting thought of what could become of Mill Pond. Species that haven’t been in West Tisbury for decades or longer could start to come back. And maybe just as remarkable as nature and biodiversity returning, as seen in Falmouth and other parts of Massachusetts, the community will learn to embrace what it has helped create. 

Residents in Falmouth, originally opposed to restoring the bogs, have told organizers that they enjoy walking the land, and enjoy the species that have popped up. It isn’t just a monoculture of cranberry bogs — beautiful as they are — but a place to gather, walk, say hello to your neighbors. Rather than holding on to what was, there is a lot of opportunity for Mill Pond that the town should embrace.