It Is Out! Secretary Bowles Decision Released by Town

July 7th was the meeting. July 14th was the deadline for comments. July 24th the decision was expected. Here it is! The long awaited decision by state Environmental Affairs’ Secretary Ian Bowles has been released by the Town of Sutton website. Over 30 state agencies, environmental groups and individuals joined the MPA to stand in support of Manchaug Pond and bring to light concerns and devastating impacts of the proposed project to breach the dam: Senator Richard Moore, Reps. Callahan and Kujawski, the Blackstone River Coalition and Mass Audubon, The Bass Federation and the Massachusetts Bass Federation, Douglas Selectman, Town of Sutton, Sutton Conservation Commission, and MassDEP, Mass Department of Fish and Game, Mass Dept of Conservation and Recreation and a number of citizens and attorneys. Secretary Bowles notes “the proposed project has garnered widespread opposition from the public and from officials at both the state and local level.” In the document, it is clear that Secretary Bowles understands the value of this lake to the property owners in the watershed, to up and down stream, to the local communities and to the Commonwealth. He calls for an arrangement “to prevent significant adverse environmental impacts to Manchaug Pond and provide …

Chronicle Article: “State Requiring Detailed Dam Report”

Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, July 30, 2009 State requiring detailed dam reportSUTTONBY JOSH FARNSWORTH The Manchaug Pond Reservoir Corp. has been on the receiving end of a laundry list of complaints from officials and residents in Sutton and Douglas. Last Friday, the state added a lengthy list of its own. Ian Bowles, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, stated in a certificate that the Manchaug Pond Reservoir Corp. and its parent company Interface Global must provide a thorough Draft Environmental Impact Report prior to moving forward with the company’s plans to divest ownership and liability of the dam. The company had stated that it was considering breaching or eliminating the dam, which has not been in use since the nearby mills in Douglas closed years ago. Interface Global had filed an Environmental Notification Form to help move the project ahead. Sutton Town Administrator Jim Smith, who has vehemently opposed the breaching proposal, says the company has a long way to go in satisfying all areas of concern with the state. “The certificate sets a very high threshold for Interface Global to meet,” he said. “In its strongest terms, I believe the answer from the state even questions the …

Testimony: Coldwater Fishery

Here is another letter in opposition to the breaching application filed by the dam owner. This testimony was submitted by a family in the watershed of Manchaug Pond to Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles as part of the MEPA process – ENF # 14435 Dear Secretary Bowles, Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments regarding the future of Manchaug Pond in Douglas and Sutton. As long-standing environmentalists in the community, we consider it of utmost importance to preserve and protect this important body of water and its watershed to the best of our ability. We own forested property that includes a substantial portion of a tributary to Manchaug Pond. We believe it is the “unnamed tributary” referred to in the enclosed Division of Fisheries & Wildlife letter directed to the Sutton Conservation Commission dated September 15, 2008, as we had requested that Fisheries survey the stream to determine if it was a coldwater fishery. It is and, as you well know, as our climate changes it is critical that we maintain habitat that preserves and protects our native trout species. Another “disconnect” with Manchaug Pond because of drawdown that does not address the long …

Did YOU Vote Yet!?!

Did you take the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle poll?Which body of water is the most scenic in the summer? Dorothy Pond 2 Singletary Lake 4Ramshorn Pond 1Manchaug Pond 11Stevens Pond 0Howe Pond 0Blackstone River 3Brierly Pond 1Other 2 COME ON NOW! Take a minute and vote! Manchaug Pond received 11 votes as of yesterday. I know I have far more readers than that that tuned in to this blog on Monday…. and given the other ponds didn’t receive all the other votes where are you! Just click on to the title of this post and I will take you there! http://www.millburysutton.com/Current/Sutton/ More importantly, thank you to all of you who took the time to send your letter of testimony to Secretary Ian Bowles in support of Manchaug Pond. Joining the MPA is this effort are our local officials from the Towns of Sutton and Douglas, our state senator and representatives, a number of state agencies and a number of environmental advocacy organizations and friends of Manchaug Pond! Each one of us working together can make a difference! The MPA continues to work to the future of Manchaug Pond.

Ease the Flow Downstream!

Here at Manchaug Pond the water level is going down… fast. The flow as seen on Parker Road, Sutton: Let’s be thankful it did not rain overnight. The dam at Manchaug Pond and the newly implemented 1930 Rule Curve is dumping enormous amounts of water downstream. A flood watch was implemented this past weekend at one area business with hourly monitoring of the river required. We have seen the Stevens Pond dam and the dam at Manchaug center act just as they have been designed in order to handle the tremendous flow. The flow over Stevens Pond yesterday: The flow in the village of Manchaug – not just a ripple. And the water over the falls in the village center – calmer than the weekend. But back on Manchaug Pond, trying to stick to the new rule curve, I am sure has been a challenge for the dam owner. Weekly, if not daily rainstorms, keep bringing the waterlevel up as the dam owner works to take it down the steep slope of the new curve. While we on Manchaug Pond are happy not to have been flooded with recent rainstorms, there continues to be the nagging yet realistic concern downstream …

While You’re Waiting… take the online poll!

Did you ever stop and marvel at how beautiful, just how “scenic” the views are here on Manchaug Pond? It truly is a jewel! And so many vistas available to the public – from Waters Farm Living History Museum – the well-published view of “beautiful Lake Manchaug”; from the “officially declared” scenic road – Manchaug Road – which brings you right at waters-edge with the watery expanse of a 380 acre lake, breathtaking scenes of moonlight over the water, and just the play of clouds and water meeting at a ribbon of green foliage; from Holt Road – the road overlooking the infamous Manchaug Pond dam which gives you a magnificent view down the channel to the setting sun on the western shore… Not to mention the wonderful opportunities provided for the public to enjoy Manchaug waters – day swimming and camping at the Old Holdbrook Place, boat launching at the public access boat ramp, camping opportunities overnight or all season at King’s Family Campground and Lake Manchaug Camping, Day camping, town softball and baseball games for children at the YMCA Camp Blanchard Facility, and oh the events at Waters Farm! Manchaug Pond… And then there are the eagles and …

The Flow Downstream & Flood Control

Sunday morning’s flow downstream from Manchaug Pond and Stevens Pond at the waterfall/dam near the former library building in the Sutton village of Manchaug:

More Wildflowers in the Watershed: The Public Access Boat Ramp

Do you see them growing all along the forest floor under the many large Eastern White Pines? Do you know these two – the white and the yellow? According to the Connecticut Botanical Society, this white flower is commonly called an Indian Pipe (Latin name: Monotropa uniflora) Indian pipe, has no chlorophyll, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients from organic matter in the soil. • Family: Indian-pipe (Monotropaceae)• Habitat: woods, in leafy humus• Height: 4-10 inches• Flower size: 3/4 inch long• Flower color: white• Flowering time: June to September• Origin: native A relative is the yellow Pinesap, Monotropa hypopithys Pinesap plants that bloom in summer tend to be yellow, while those that bloom in fall are reddish. Pinesap, like its relative Indian pipe has no chlorophyll, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients from organic matter in the soil. • Family: Indian-pipe (Monotropaceae)• Habitat: woods, usually in acid soil• Height: 4-15 inches• Flower size: 1/2 inch long• Flower color: pale yellow to reddish• Flowering time: June to October• Origin: native http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/monotropahypo.html

Manchaug Pond Foundation Photo

“Moss Animals” Visit from Over the Falls!

Our visitor from over the dam at Sutton Falls is called a “moss animal” or bryozoan with a Latin name of Pectinatella magnifica. Brotozoans were first photographed last year in Manchaug Pond. These two photos were taken on the east side of the channel. Brotozoa are living colonies which attach themselves to rocks, branches and docks. My summer neighbor brought them to my attention as he noticed these “growths” on the rocks in the water in front of his cottage. He said in his 50+ years on the lake he had never seen anything like it. He thought they were masses of fish eggs but when handled they did not separate into individual egg cells. Fisheries Biologist, Richard Hartley of MassWildlife confirmed last year’s finding/identification and reported to us in an email: “what you have at the pond are bryozoans. They fool the bestof folks when you see them for the first time. When I first encounteredthem doing pond surveys I thought they were an egg mass of some kind.They are actually colonies of thousands of individuals that cometogether to form a colony much like coral in the ocean. I have sometechnical information I can send you, but if you …

Telegram Reports MRC Still Trying to Sell Dam

The Telegram must be selling papers on this issue to have printed a 7th article in just over a month’s time on the effort of the dam owner to sell the Manchaug Pond dam. Again – read for yourself. The photo is accurate for those into photography. Still no price has been set and Lake Manchaug Camping owner Karen Staruk gets a mention by the correspondent.Saturday, July 25, 2009 Manchaug Pond Dam at issue The Manchaug Pond Dam is at the center of a controversy over dam safety versus wetlands protection. (T&G Staff/MARK C. IDE) By Ruth Vecchione CORRESPONDENT We’re caught in a predicament. We’ve triedto get the two agencies to sitdown together.— Wendy Porter, MANCHAUG RESERVOIR CORP. SUTTON — The owners of the Manchaug Pond Dam are caught between choosing dam safety or wetlands protection. So far, they’ve chosen dam safety. “The safe operation, liability and responsibility rest with the dam owner,” Wendy Porter of Manchaug Reservoir Corp. said this week. Changes in the requirements of the state Office of Dam Safety in October 2007 prompted the company to lower the water level last year by about 3 feet. The state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year, however, …

A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven … A Time to Bail!

The nor’easter has brought nearly 5 inches of rain to Manchaug Pond raising the water level considerably overnight and bringing in strong winds to add to the mix. This is the scene this morning on Manchaug Pond as rain and waves fill and sink boats, wind unfurled sails and ….. I’m still writing and loading pictures so tune in again…

A time to Bail! … continued…

My neighbor said he thought about it last night – put the bow of the boat to the wind – but didn’t get to it. The waves would have splashed off. Putting the motor to the lake allowed the water from last night’s/today’s nor’easter to come right in. When you don’t live on the lake, but have water rights – daily trips to the lake to check on things is necessary. Two “Captains” head to the lake early this morning to man the bailers! 5 gallon buckets are not traditionally used as bailers but in this situation quite necessary. At a recent Sutton Conservation Commission meeting I watched on Sutton TV Online, a new lake resident spoke about his experience living on a lake – all new to him were the unexpected strong winds, visiting geese and the weeds and debris that wash up on the beach. I remember telling his cousin last year to tell the newcomer to close his tabletop umbrellas as the wind would love to catch them. With the majority of Manchaug Pond property owners season summer camps and cottages – it is a good policy to secure everything from boats to umbrellas to beach toys …