“They didn’t vote for the people or the lake!” exclaimed a new MPA member. “We’re asking them for our democratic right and they think their voting on owning a dam!” lamented a Sutton resident. Tonight SUTTON Selectmen voted 4 to 1 DENYING Manchaug Pond residents their democratic right to formally assemble and vote on the proposed watershed district. The Selectmen’s vote is an effort to block the formation of a separate deliniation of the town whose mission would be the protection of the beautiful water resource of Manchaug Pond. In a vote difficult to fathom and before a jam-packed room of Manchaug Pond supporters which overflowed into the hallway, the Board gave a laundry list of far-reaching reasons and unsupported fears for their inability to support the lake residents. After denying the MPA an opportunity to answer the specific questions raised by each Selectman, the Chairman gave the MPA President Dave Schmidt, Attorney Walter Jabs, and Corresponding Secretary Phyllis Charpentier six minutes to outline changes made specifically for the town and to tell of the initiative’s importance to the lake’s water quality and preservation. The dozens and dozens of lake supporters/property owners were kept silent, told they should have spoken …
Work Progresses on Watershed District
The MPA continues to work on the framework of the watershed district addressing specific concerns raised by members and in meetings before the Boards of Selectman in the towns of Douglas and Sutton. Specifically, the eminent domain powers, which all municipalities have, have been further narrowed. Also at the request of the Douglas Board, the management committee of the District will be expanded from 3 to 5 members with the town having a voting seat. I believe the Minnesota Association of Watershed District sums it up well when it states “Because water does not follow political boundaries, it makes sense to manage natural resouces on a watershed basis.” The “land of 10,000 lakes” (really over 11,000), Minnesota’s legislature authorized watershed districts in 1955. Today, the Association of Watershed Districts reports over 46 watershed district in Minnesota. They “are local units of government that work to solve and prevent water-related problems. The boundaries of the disticts follow those of a natural watershed, and the districts are usually named after that watershed… This type of management allows for an overall, holistic approach to resource conservation… Water mamagement on a watershed basis is important for uniform and effective controls, not only to correct …
New Feature on the Blog… The Poll!
A new feature is now available from Blogger – THE POLL! Yes, if you look to the right you will notice we can poll our readers on any given topic! What do you think? Care to participate?! Care to suggest a topic or category for a future poll? Be the first to take the poll! If you rather just lurk, than sit back, relax and enjoy last night’s sunset! :))
Yo! Is this the Boat Ramp?!
No, and you can’t get there from here! 🙂 Saturday’s hot weather brought the usually high number of visitors to Manchaug Pond via the State Public Access Boat Ramp. And like the one pictured above there are always a few each weekend who wander down the wrong road in search of water.
New Hampshire and Vermont Report New Invasive Algae in Rivers!
Disgusting! Like something out of an old horror movie! Devastating! Check out this invasive algae which attacks rivers and streams. I don’t know how or if lakes can be effected.(Thanks to the MPA Board member who passed this along to me!) “The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has issued an alert that the invasive algae “Didymosphenia geminate” also known as “rock snot” or “didymo” has been found along the northern reaches of the Connecticut River as well as in the White River near Bethel, Vermont. A local fishing guide discovered the invasive alga which was later confirmed by the Vermont Natural Resources Agency. This is the first positive identification of the algae in the northeastern region of the United States. Because of its extremely invasive nature and the close proximity of the findings to New Hampshire, it is imperative that scientists and experts from across the region address the threat of further spreading of the algae into other waterways. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this alga is the only freshwater diatom to exhibit large scale invasive behavior. It impacts infested water bodies significantly with the ability to alter food web structure as well as the hydraulics of streams …
Selectman Vote to Support Watershed District!
Congratulations to the Whitin Reservoir Association and the Douglas Board of Selectman for working together to craft legislation to protect both the reservoir and the interests of the town’s people. The Board voted unanimously in favor of the formation of a watershed district! (4-0-1 as a newly elected selectman abstained from the vote.) Last night legal counsel for both the town and the association further reviewed and “tweeked” the language of the document making it acceptable to both groups. Considered was expanding the town’s involvement to a voting seat on the district’s management committee, expanding the management committee from 3 to 5 members, further limiting the eminent domain powers to just the dam, and adding language to ensure the flow to the town’s wastewater treatment plant if the association were to ever have ownership of the dam. Over 25 member of the association were present to hear the Selectman’s vote of support and broke out into applause as selectman thanked the group for their efforts and spoke of the satisfaction with the compromise.
Fireworks on Manchaug Pond!
Sunday night held some good booms and left many cheering in the channel butMonday night was a red, white and blue sensation! and The Grand Finale! While many homeowners have and do hire professionals to launch their fireworks shows… The Office of the Fire Marshall reminds us that, “It is illegal for privatecitizens to use, possess or sell fireworks in Massachusetts, or topurchase them illegally elsewhere and transport them into the state.” Also our further disclaimer… the state requires a permit to formally sponsor or organize a boat parade. That is why here on ManchaugPond, it just happens! Don’t forget to pick up your flares at acampground store or from an Area Rep. to set the shoreline aglow. Maybe we can do it a couple nights since the 4th falls during the week 🙂
Begin the weekend in silence!
Last night’s Manchaug Pond…This morning I noticed… the silence. 6:45 a.m. Besides a few songbirds chirping, there was silence – no boats, no jetskis, no music, no talking, and no roosters crowing in the distance. 7:05 a.m. The same… silence. 7:10 a.m. One bass boat roaring out of the channel from the Public Boat Ramp. One boat. Just one! Why the silence? On the boat front, there are no fishing tournaments listed for this weekend and next! Two weeksends of sleeping late if you like or two weeksends of early morning peace 🙂 Click the title of this post to link to the state ramp schedule to see for yourself.http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/pab/pab_schedevents.htm#M If you are new to Manchaug Pond and the MPA, the State Public Access Boat Ramp used to open before 6:00 a.m. with the count and the roar of the bass boats occuring minutes later. It was at an MPA Annual Meeting inwhich our members asked John Hebert, then the Sutton Police Chief if the time could be delayed a bit. With a definite “yes” and a siting of current laws on allowable noise and reasonable times, immediate action was taken. Our thanks to Mr. Hebert who has since retired …
Reading the Newspaper
In the News… Today- Woman injured by a vehicle near Parker Road and Manchaug Road yesterday morning – Well that explains what all the sirens were about. Yesterday-Mass Environmental Police announce increase in patrols on selected lakes across the state after recent jetski accidents.Remember when operating a jetski that you must wear a life jacket, cannot operate between sunset and sunrise, cannot operate within 150 feet of a beach, cannot tow anything, and cannot operate if under 16 years old. – In N.H. a woman pinned down a fox and held it there for 10 minutes waiting for police after it bit her daughter. Glad it wasn’t our foxes from Manchaug Pond!.. You know I haven’t seen a fox this year in Area 3. Wonder were the little ones who sat on my porch last year went to live. Thursday – Two black bears eating at a bird feeder on a deck at a home on Coes Pond in Worester. Wasn’t it just a few years ago a black bear was spotted here on Manchaug Pond in Area 5 eating seeds from a bird feeder! Take those feeders in early in the season! – In Douglas, an article titled “Decision …