In This Issue

www.saltpondscoalition.org OfficialWatershedCouncilfortheSaltPonds Summer2010

Message from the President

When Oil Soaked Our Shores

Annual Meeting 25 years of Committed Volunteer Pond Watchers

Oyster Reefs

Buffer Demo Project

Last of the Draggers

Westerly Harbor Manage-ment Plan

Ponderings

New Ammonium Study

Nuisance Weed in Ninigret

When Oil Soaked Our Own Shores

Tidal PageNews of the Rhode Island Salt Ponds

Annual Meeting to Feature Expert on Oil Spill Modeling

We are very fortunate to have se-cured Malcolm Spaulding - founder and Chairman of Applied Science Associates (ASA)- to speak at our annual meeting on August 16th. Dr. Spaulding is one

The North Cape Spill on Moonstone Beach, 1996

The captain of the Tug Scandia was pushing hard. Actually, he was towing hard, but pushing the Scandia’s powerful diesels to their limit in an ef-fort to make port in Providence before the worst of a nasty winter storm fell upon southern Rhode Island.

The journey started in Bayonne, NJ on January 19th, 1996 and along the length of Long Island Sound the ship and barge plowed through relatively pro-tected waters. Emerging from the lee of Long Island, however, the Scandia and

Will oil impact your favorite east-coast beaches later this year?of the foremost experts on modeling oil spills and other forms of pollution, and predicting how they will spread and what the impact will be. ASA was active in de-veloping the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) for the North Cape spill here in RI and is actively supporting NOAA in the assessment of the current blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Spaulding will speak about the nature of the Gulf blowout and how the oil slicks and sub-surface oil plumes could affect areas from the Gulf coast of Flori-

Salt PondsCoalition

1985 - 2010

da, to the east-facing beaches of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and on up to Rhode Island.

There has been a lot of conflicting information about the crisis in the Gulf and that data fog will almost certainly continue throughout the summer. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the dynamics at work from one of the world’s foremost experts. After the pre-sentation, there will be a Q&A session, so you can direct your own questions to Dr. Spaulding. We expect a large crowd, so plan to arrive early. The maximum capacity allowed by the Fire Marshal is 120 people.

So what do the prospects of oil spreading beyond the gulf look like

Thecelebrating twenty-five years

of scientific excellence

tanker barge North Cape - loaded with 3.9 million gallons of home heating oil - met with seas building to twenty feet and southerly winds reaching to sixty knots.

SPC Annual Meeting

The tug Scandia with the barge North Cape ashore on Moonstone beach in January 1996.

(continued on page 5)

(continued on page 4)

August 16th, 7:00pmKettle Pond Visitor Center50 Bend Road, Charlestown, RI

The Tidal Page Summer 2010 Page 2Page 2

Message From Our President

Salt Ponds CoalitionThe Salt Ponds Coalition stands up for the health and sustainable use of the south-ern Rhode Island salt ponds. SPC is the only organization whose sole charter is to monitor and protect these unique resources.

www.saltpondscoalition.org

Email:info@saltpondscoalition.org

Mailing addressPO Box 875

Charlestown, RI 02813

Board of DirectorsArt GanzPresident

Edward CallenderVice President &

Chair Environmental CommitteeGeorge Hill

TreasurerNancy Zabel

SecretaryDavid BaileySarah Dodd

Barbara Engel

Jack Frost

Sharon Frost

Martha Hosp

Roy Jeffrey

Kallie Jurgens

William Lester

Leo Mainelli

Dick Sartor

Elise Torello

Executive DirectorMark Bullinger

Tidal Page Editorial and Layout

Mark Bullinger

Dear Members,

The summer of 2010 is flying by. This has been a warm and dry summer and our salt ponds are showing the strain. Temperatures are up, oxygen is low and the heavy run off from the spring floods have resulted in huge algal blooms early in the season. Thanks to our dedicated Pond Watchers, we are collecting very valuable water quality data.

Speaking of the Pond Watchers, this is the twenty-fifth year of Pond Watchers. We are proud to thank and congratulate the many volunteers who have made our program the longest operating volunteer marine water quality-monitoring program in the nation. We are planning a celebration in the fall and will be contacting all past and present monitors to attend. Currently, we are searching our lists to identify past Pond Watchers. If you were or are a Pond Watcher and you don’t hear from us, that means that we’ve lost your address, so please contact our office.

The Ocean House tours were a huge success. All of us have Ocean House memories and it was so great to see this wonderful structure restored to its original grandeur. I personally want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Royce for their hospitality and generosity. And thanks also to our 200 supporters who attended the event and directed their entrance contribution to Salt Ponds Coalition. This was a wonderful boost during a tough financial year.

We continue to be involved in current events along the coast. Our shellfish work with The Nature Conservancy is going well and we have submitted an oyster restoration proposal to further restore resources in the ponds. The Charlestown Group continues to meet and develop measures to protect our ponds. Recent-ly Charlestown voters authorized a $150,000 trust fund to support a match for breachway maintenance. Currently Dr. Anne Veeger from the U.R.I. Geology De-partment and students are conducting ground water testing to document nutrient levels before they reach the ponds. Last week I met with Senator Whitehouse and members of the Weekapaug Foundation for Conservation to gather support for breachway maintenance.

At this writing, I am looking forward to our annual Pizza Fundraiser at the Hills and a kayak trip outlining our shellfish activities with The Nature Conser-vancy. Please attend our Annual Meeting in August, with our speaker Dr. Malcolm Spaulding, world-renowned expert on current prediction. Dr. Spaulding will tell us about the impacts of the Gulf oil spill and what we can expect. The Potter Pond kayak trip, rained out in June will be rescheduled for September.

In closing, I want to thank our dedicated Board of Directors for their hard work and thank you for your continued support.

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Join us on facebook

The Show Your Cause fundraising event this spring at the Ocean house was a big success for SPC. We quickly sold out the allotted spots for our scheduled day, but thankfully the Ocean House staff fit almost everyone who wanted to attend into open spots on alternative days. The event raised a sub-stantial sum of money through entrance donations - of which 100% went to SPC - and Mr. Royce donated an additional $1,000 to each non-profit that participated.

Events

Salt Pond Safaris - Weekapaug We will run a special safari at the Weekapaug Yacht Club on August 14th at 10:00am. The event is free and participants can ex-pect to catch small fish, shrimp, worms, crabs and other really cool things. Non residents please call to discuss parking.

Aug. 9th - Discovery Paddle. SPC will lead a discovery paddle on Quonnie Pond leaving from the Weeka-paug Yacht Club. We will have marine scientists and a local historian along for interpretation. Non-residents please call to discuss parking. Departs 9:00am and return by 11:00am.

Sept. 18th - Fall Kayak Trip Our fall paddle will be on Potter Pond in Wakefield. We will meet up at 8:30am and return by noon. This is a difficult pond to access and we have made special arrangements for parking and launch.

Sept. 25th - Coastal Cleanup Each year SPC man-ages a cleanup site as part of the International Coastal Cleanup day. The site we clean is the Quonochontaug state public access site at the end of West Beach Road. 9:00am to 12:00 noon.

details for all events can be found at www.saltpondscoalition.org

Salt Pond Safaris - Ninigret Park Our Ninigret Park Salt Pond Safari series will take place on the third Saturday morning of each month from June through Sept. Safaris form up at the last parking area in Ninigret Park at 10:00am.

Sept. 9th - Pond Watcher 25th Anniver-sary Party. SPC will honor the volunteers who have served over the years with a 25th anniversary party at 5:00pm at the Quonochontaug Yacht Club. Heavy h’ors d’oeuvres and beer and wine will be served. Space is limited, so invitations will only be sent to those who have/are engaged in SPC volunteer work.

If you are a Facebook user, please become a fan of our new group. Just search within Facebook for Salt Ponds Coalition and

you will find us. We are posting event notices and a stream of interesting facts and observations about the salt ponds.

Ocean House Fundraiser a Big Success for SPC.

A really big thank you to Mr. Chuck Royce, the staff of the Ocean House, and all of you who kindly directed your entrance donation to SPC!

Tour guests were divided into small groups, each with its own guide, to tour the suites.

Dick Sartor (left) presents Art Ganz with a sign he carved to help cel-ebrate the work of Salt Ponds Coalition. Dick is a sculptor and a board member of SPC. The sign is carved from Poplar wood and painted gray, blue, white and green. The lettering is embossed with silver leaf finish. We will have the sign at several events this year if you would like to see it. Thanks, Dick... it’s a work of art!

The event was very good for SPC and a lot of fun for those who attended. If you did not attend, be sure to visit the Ocean House this summer or fall to experience for yourself what is

going on there. SPC extends a really big thank you to Mr. Chuck Royce, the staff of the Ocean House, and all of you who kindly directed your do-nation to SPC! The entire Show

Your Cause effort was a huge logistical challenge for the new-ly-opened hotel and we appreciate the effort.

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New Station in Northern Potter Pond

Gulf oil on the East Coast? (continued from page 1)

This season SPC has a new sampling station in the north end of Potter Pond. This station is made possible by the gen-erous support of John, Paul and Kim Hooper, who funded the $600 lab fees and are also collecting the samples.

This station will be a real enhance-ment to our program, because north Pot-ter Pond is very different from the central section where we have historically had a station. The data from this and all other stations will be entered into our online in-teractive maps, so any and all can utilize the results.

Many of our twenty-four stations are funded by local associations, clubs, or fam-ilies, but many are not funded at all and SPC pays for them out of pocket. This is particularly true on Ninigret Pond and Point Judith Pond. We would love to have additional funders step forward to help with these stations and to ensure their regions are well monitored and recorded in the database, which will get better with each passing year.

right now? Dr Spaulding wrote a paper in this topic back in June. It begins with the following excerpt.

SPC Working with Town of Charlestown

SPC Undertakes New Study of Ammonium

For the past several months a group of organizations, including the Salt Ponds Coalition, Charlestown Waste Water Commission, Charlestown Salt Ponds (Harbor) Commission, Weekapaug Foundation, Nope’s Island, Save the Bay, The Nature Conservancy and U.R.I. fac-ulty has been meeting monthly with rep-resentatives of the Town of Charlestown. This group is working to address salt pond issues such as reducing nutrient loading, storm water runoff, breachway mainte-nance and ground water monitoring.

The Waste Water Commission is working with R.I.D.E.M. to find a work-able solution to address Rule 39, installa-tion of denitrification septic systems. A fertilizer ordinance is written, awaiting adoption. A U.R.I. ground water study is underway and Dr. Ted Callender is con-ducting a study of nutrient entry through tributaries into the salt ponds. A sub-committee to investigate a maintenance dredging strategy for the breachways is underway as well.

Salt Ponds Coalition Environmen-tal Chair Ted Callender is conducting phase one of a study on levels and effects of ammonium in the bottom sediments of Quonochontaug Pond this summer. Funding is being supplied by the Weeka-paug Foundation for Conservation.

Dr. Callender is interested in the role Ammonium (NH4) might play in fueling excess growth of algae and other forms of aquatic plant life.

Most pollution-reduction efforts fo-cus on Nitrates (NO3), which have been known for many years to be an important source of nitrogen for the growth of algae in brackish and marine waters. Nitrates do not bind well to soil, so they can travel through groundwater and surface water to the salt ponds. Current on-site waste wa-ter disposal regulations focus on nitrates.

However, Ammonium is present in the bottom sediments of the ponds and might be utilized by plants when nitrates are not available. We will report more on this topic after further study.

There has been speculation since the DeepWater Horizon blowout started on April 20, 2010 that the oil would be trans-ported to the south, captured by the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico, and then carried through the Florida Straits to join the Gulf Stream at the southern end of Florida. The oil was then postulated to be transported along the southeast coast of the US and finally offshore at Cape Hat-teras, where the Gulf Stream separates from the shelf break. For the oil to reach southern New England’s coastal waters several additional things are required to happen, either individually or acting in concert. One mechanism is a sustained onshore wind (from the south) that trans-

ports the surface oil toward the coast. Another is that the oil becomes incorporated into a meander on the northern side of the Gulf Stream, after it separates from the coast. The meander is then postulated to de-velop into a warm core ring, which is then advected by the mean southwesterly shelf flows along the shelf break. Surface waters from this warm core ring might then intrude onto the southern New England shelf.

Dr. Spaulding goes on to reference several simu-lations performed by the National Center for Atmo-spheric Research (NCAR), which are “consistent with basic transport paths postulated above.” There appear to be some big variables and caveats associated with these simulations. One is the simulations were performed for a period of 132 days, assuming a 2 month release (April 20 to June 20, 2010). In fact, the flow ran for 90 days or 150% of the duration used in the simulation. The simulations do not take into account weathering and natural breakdown of the oil, so dilution rates are uncertain. It is not clear what flow rate was used, and, as we all recall, the official estimates of oil flowing from the blowout seemed to go up weekly.

So, it seems this paper indicates there could well be migration of oil along the east coast, but that we will need to listen to Dr. Spaulding and ask questions when he speaks at the annual meeting to really understand the potential for any east-coast impacts.

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office in Jerusalem, just across Point Judith harbor from the Block Island ferry. Art was driving home when news of the im-pending disaster came across the truck ra-dio. He called his boss on a two-way radio set that coincidently had been purchased

The strain became too much for the tug and before long an engine fire broke out; the tug lost power and the crew was forced to abandon ship by donning survival suits and jumping into the surging sea.

As the afternoon wore on, the ship and barge were blown ever closer to the Rhode Island beaches by the on-shore wind. The Coast Guard was successful in rescuing the crew of the Scandia, but, hampered by heavy weather, they could not get a powerful enough ship on station to stop the drift of the heavily loaded barge or the tug. In fact, several cutters and tugs had to turn back due to the severe condi-tions. Eventually, two men were landed on the barge by cutter to make efforts to deploy an anchor. Sadly, as is so often the case in tragedies, multiple errors, malfunc-tions and shortcuts compound the prob-lems until they reach a critical mass that could not be overcome. Such was the case with the North Cape. The windlass that normally operated the massive anchor had been removed for servicing and the anchor was lashed to the barge with heavy line and cable. The men tried to loosen the anchor, but with wave after wave washing the deck, and freezing temperatures numbing their fingers, the efforts ultimately failed and in the failing light of a winter afternoon, the barge and tug grounded on Moonstone Beach in Matunuck.

Art Ganz (now SPC President) was shellfish coordinator for RI DEM with an

with settlement money from the World Prodigy oil spill off of Newport several years earlier, and received instructions to head to the office and set up a field com-mand post there.

Towards 7:00pm, the unmistakable smell of #2 heating oil started to permeate the office and those on site knew that the situation was turning from bad to worse.

The storm continued throughout the night with waves pounding the beached rig and by morning the leak was substan-tial. Before it was all over the barge leaked

828,000 gallons of oil. A bad leak by any measure, but what made it worse was that the oil leaked out in the high surf of a raging winter storm and was so emulsified by the wave action that it thoroughly mixed into the water column. Normally oil floats on the surface, where it fouls birds and beaches and other forms of wildlife that pass in or out through the surface film, but does relatively little damage to

North Cape (continued from page 1)

View from the south shows the tug Scandia on the beach and the barge North Cape sideways to the beach. During the storm, waves pounded the barge broadside and ruptured several internal tanks. Trustom Pond is in the background behind a thin barrier beach.

the creatures deeper in the water column or on or in the bottom sediment. In this case, however, the oil reached all creatures in the water column and killed them by the thousands and millions. Yet it could have been worse. This spill happened in

January, when our migratory species were far away. Had it happened in the spring, summer, or fall, many additional spe-cies would have been around and larval fish by the millions would have been in the biomass. But even this tim-ing was a mixed blessing. In the dead of winter

the south shore of Rhode Island is home to many diving birds that live on the water and dive below the surface to feed on mol-lusks and fish. Loons from northern New England and Canada were hit particularly hard with several hundred individuals killed. Numerous other species, including ducks and mergansers, were also hard hit.

The most visible forms of marine life impacted were shellfish and lobsters. Eye witness accounts relate that surf clam mortality was so high, cleanup crews were removing piles of the clams with bucket loaders and dump trucks. Individual mor-tality was estimated in the range of 150 million. Lobsters suffered an estimated 9 million dead, with the majority being young individuals whose winter habitat tends to be the rocky cobble of near-shore shoals. Numerous species of finfish were also hit, including flounder, and tautog, two economically important fish. (The above estimates are from the National Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) authored by Deborah French McCay.)

It is informative to look at this rela-Those are not stones on the beach, they are dead surf clams washed up at low tide. Workers removed them with bucket loaders and dump trucks.

(continued on page 10)

The Tidal Page Summer 2010 Page �Page �

Twenty-five Years of Caring People

Adams Kevin 2010 2010 1Allen James UnknownAllyn Don UnknownAnthony Craig UnknownBaer John 1985 1988 4Ballou Bob UnknownBailey David 2007 2007 1Barber Pat & Bill 2003 2008 6Barclay Donn UnknownBeisel George 1988 1989 2Bianco Dottie 2003 2003 1Blansfield Chris UnknownBliss Zenas 1988 1988 1Blivin Ed UnknownBoll Ken UnknownBradley Jack 1990 2002 13Brennan Miriam UnknownBrotherhood John UnknownBullinger Mark 2007 2007 1Burdick Gilbert 1988 1988 1Callender Ted 2006 2010 5Carpenter Phill 1988 1988 1Caval Kathy 2010 2010 1Chappel Judy UnknownChappel V. UnknownConnley Kathleen UnknownCummings Mary 2002 2002 1Damon Christopher UnknownDavis Chester 1998 2004 7Degaetano Phil 2003 2006 4Delamater Charles 1988 1988 1DeMelim David & Jillian 2006 2010 5Demetric Steve UnknownDiCecco Bruno 1999 2002 4Dillingham Tim 1989 1989 1Dillman Brenda 2001 2002 2Dodd Tom 2007 2010 4Dowd Ray UnknownDoyle Bea 1988 1988 1Drude Sherry 2005 2005 1Dvorak Vic 2001 2004 2Emers Ruth UnknownEndres Stephen 2004 2007 4Eschenfelder Bill 1988 1988 1Fairweather Lynn 1998 2003 6Fielder Betty 2003 2003 1Forand Bernie Unknown Fortz Brian UnknownFreeman Roger UnknownFreeman Libby UnknownFritz Brian UnknownFrost Jack 2006 2008 3Ganz Art 1985 1987 3Ganz Pam 2001 2010 10Garceau Joan 2001 2002 2Gardner Jeff 1988 2006 19Gaunt Marge UnknownGledhill Jeff 1989 1989 1Griffin George 1988 1988 1Griscom Clem UnknownGriscom Sarah 1988 1988 1Haden John 1988 1988 1Hale Al 1988 1988 1Hausmann Dorthy UnknownHausmann Henry 1986 2002 17Haydock Steve UnknownHemenway Lang UnknownHenry Bill 1991 2002 12Heyder Elli UnknownHigginbottom Clint 1988 1988 1Hickox Charles UnknownHill George, Nick & Dan 2001 2010 10Holland Harry 1988 1988 1Hooper Paul 2010 2010 1Horstmann Dick 2004 2005 2Houle Robert 2002 2002 1Howard Galen UnknownHuot Wayne 2006 2006 1Hunter Ed UnknownHurley Bart UnknownJensen Susan 2007 2010 4Kamm Jay UnknownKeough Lori 2007 2007 1Kilcup Bill & Barbara Unknown Kimball Ann 1991 2002 12

Kingman Ernie 1985 2008 24Krukowski Joe 1988 1988 1Kurth Karl UnknownLabossier Faith UnknownLamb John UnknownLamb Laura UnknownLanik John UnknownLarson Virginia & Lars 1988 1988 1Laughlan Roger 1985 2002 18Lea S. UnknownLee Van UnknownLeClair 2008 2008 1LeVasseur Frank UnknownLim Sarah 2009 2009 1Littlefield Chris UnknownLockler Bruce 2010 2010 1Lovvoll Gudman 2001 2010 10Lyons George 2004 2004 1Lyons Rob & Pam 2007 2007 1Mackey Douglas 1988 1988 1Mallon Terry 2001 2002 2Maynard George 2007 2010 4McGonagle Bessie 1988 1988 1Minopoli Ralph 1997 2010 14Monk Dave UnknownMorgan Cy 1988 1988 1Morton William UnknownMurphy Gil 2000 2002 3Nardone Sue 1986 2002 17Nelson Joan UnkownNorman Jim 2010 2010 1Orme Bill 1988 1988 1Pearson Cal 1988 1988 1Perkins Earl UnknownPerry Bob 1988 1988 1Phelan Bob 1988 1988 1Phelan Ray UnknownPicano Joe UnknownPlatt Merry 1988 1988 1Pratt Margie UnknownPratt Robert 1988 1988 1Preuss Anne 1988 1988 1Rahm John 1988 1988 1Rand Fay 1988 1988 1Revaz Keith 2007 2010 4Ricci Glen 2007 2007 1Rocheleau Don 2004 2010 7Roman Adam 2009 2010 2Roy Michael 2004 2004 1Sacco Margaret 1988 1989 2Salisbury Toni UnknownSamoles Vic UnknownSartor Dick 2007 2010 4Schipper Pete 1988 1988 1Schoonover Eric 1988 1988 1Sisson Richard 2009 2009 1Slusarski John 2009 2010 2Smoot Monica & Sally 2005 2005 1Spector Ben UnknownSt. George Eric UnknownStandish Steven 2002 2002 1Starinovich Nick 1985 2002 18Stedman Alan Unknown Stedman Elaine 1985 2002 18Strickland C. UnknownSweeney Alain UnknownTobin Jack 1985 2002 18Toney Ross 1988 1988 1Torello Elise 2008 2010 3Truslow Ted 2003 2010 8Tuttle Ned UnknownTwarkins Jim 2006 2008 3Urso Don 2006 2008 3Valois Louis 1992 2002 11Van Ackerman Henry 1988 1988 1Van Vranken Mike UnknownVigna Vincent 1997 2010 14Vinal George 1988 1988 1Walker Gus 2001 2002 2Wall Walter 1988 1988 1Weatherell Nancy 1988 1989 1Wetherell Bob 1988 1988 1Winslow Mark UnknownWood Dick 1988 1988 1

Last First Aprox. years of service Last First Aprox. years of service

2005 represents our twenty-fifth year of water sampling. In the beginning, the organization was called The Pond Watchers. Over time several groups combined and for many years now we’ve been known as Salt Ponds Coalition. The following list is the most com-plete record we have been able to compile of the generous people who have given so much of their time and passion to helping protect our waters. There are holes in the record along the way, so if you notice omissions, please let us know!

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1

Vegetated Buffer in Green Hill Pond Area Constructed with Help from DEM Grant Program.

A Salt Ponds Coalition initiative has lead to the completion of a riparian buffer restoration proj-ect on the shore of Teal Pond, a direct tributary to Green Hill Pond. The site, the backyard of Len and Arlene Suchotliff, was a steep grassy slope that ran all the way to the pond. It was a hangout for geese, and their copious droppings littered the wide open spaces. Len and Arlene bought the house with the yard in place and were receptive to our suggestion that they plant a buffer to discourage the geese.

SPC initiated a grant application and funds were awarded from the Department of Environ-mental Management (DEM) Riparian Buffer Restoration Grant, of the Narragansett Bay and Watershed Restoration Bond, to help the couple install the buffer and to demonstrate how the process works and ultimately looks. In the early stages of the project, we brought in Kate Venturini, Manager of the URI/CRMC Coastal Landscape Program, to consult with the Suchotliffs on different native plant species. After a bidding process, Frank Crandall of Wood River Evergreens was awarded the job. Frank specializes in native landscaping and in fact lectures on the topic. He worked with the property owners to design a 100-foot long buffer that will look great and discourage the geese. Geese droppings add bacteria and excess nutrients to our waterways. Green Hill Pond and Teal Pond are overloaded with both forms of contamination, so reducing goose habitat will be ben-eficial. This project dramatically cuts back on the preferred habitat for geese on this significant tributary. If you have nuisance geese, call us for some ideas. You can read more at http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/cangeese.pdf

1) The property owners meet with native landscaping expert Kate Venturini. 2) Frank Crandall of Wood River Evergreens visits the site on a snowy day in March. 3) Wood River Evergreens crew members put the finishing touches on the job. 4) The geese on the pond are finding less space to congregate and should become less of a problem as time goes by.

Canada Geese produce a pound of droppings per day, each. They often feed at inland locations and then deposit their droppings in or near the water, thereby transfering nitrogen from land to water. Yards like this attract geese and al-low rain to easily flush it into the pond.

Oyster Reefs in Ninigret PondSPC is working with The Nature Conservancy to secure funds

to build oyster reefs in Ninigret Pond. The pond is host to several oyster farms, where the cultivated oysters spawn just like the wild ones. A TNC study suggests that there is a shortage of preferred oyster habitat available in the pond for the larval oysters to attach to. Our goal is to provide additional reef made from oyster, clam and scallop shell, for the larval oysters to utilize. Oyster substrate is called culch and they prefer a natural hard substance high in cal-

cium, such as shell. Recently we found several mature oys-ters growing on cinder blocks that had been holding marker buoys for two years - a strong sign that additional culch will result in new sets and growing stocks.

The ponds used to be full of oysters until almost all were lost to over harvest and disease over the past two decades. Oysters are great filter feeders and help to naturally clean the waters. In addition to the spawning stocks in the commercial farms, hundreds of thousands of disease-resistant oysters have been grown and released into the pond.

2

3

4

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SPC Planning Committee Completes Draft of updat-ed Three-year Plan

Nuisance Weed Thicker Than Ever in Ninigret

Lucy M Sinks in Harbor of Refuge Last of the Wooden Stonington-Built Draggers

The sinking of the Lucy M this past May was not exactly the stuff of seagoing legend. The creaky old ship started taking on water close to home port in fair weather and was followed by three Coast Guard cutters while it tried to make port. She didn’t quite make it back and while running for a sand flat to beach on, she sank in about 23-feet of water. Thankfully, everyone was fine and the drama minimal. The story is more interesting because the Lucy M represented the last of a generation and class of ship that was once common in this area. The Lucy M was a Stonington trawler. These boats were built at a variety of boat yards in the middle part of the twentieth century. The Lucy M was built about sixty years ago. Boats of this vintage and type worked the near-shore grounds of southern New England for decades fishing for all kinds of bottom fish: cod, flounder, scup, squid, tautog, whiting, and assorted other

fish, such as skate, which are used as lobster bait. Now, most of the ships in the Stonington or Point Judith fleets are shrimp boats converted to trawlers, with most coming from the Gulf states.

Lucy M was a western rig, meaning the wheelhouse was forward and the gear was fished off the back of the deck - the same setup that is dominant today. The older eastern rig had a stern-mounted wheelhouse, so as to utilize direct connections to the rudder and engine controls. There would often be a crew quarters at the bow and the gear was fished off the side of the ship.

A small slick of light diesel escaped from the ship but the Coast Guard decided there was not enough to undertake collection/clean up action.

A subcommittee of the SPC board of directors has completed a draft three-year plan with the goal of clarify-ing the mission of SPC and the strategies and tactics it will follow in the coming years. The planning process was lead by SPC board member David Baily. The plan was presented to the full SPC board at the July meeting where it was well received. Several board members wanted to see additional details addressed, so these issues will be worked on by several directors and the plan will be debated again at the August meeting. Once it is aprroved, we will pub-

lish the plan for all interested members to review.

SPC three-year planning commitee includes: (clockwise from left) Dick Sartor, Art Ganz, Mark Bullinger, Elise Torello, Martha Hosp, Barb Engel, and David Baily.

A team with deep experience sketches out the future for SPC

A number of residents on the north side of Ninigret Pond have called wondering what the weed is that is clogging large sections of the pond coastline. The photo shown below is a large mess of Gracil-laria, which has become the curse of Ninigret Pond. There appears to be a mixture of other species as well, such as Enteromorpha and a mat of blue-green algae. One would expect that the red algae, such as Gracillaria, would be dying out to give way for the green algae, which is more predominent in the summer. Simply, the algal cycle sees the browns dominate the flora dur-ing the late winter and early spring, then give way to the reds and then the greens and blue-greens during the hot summer months. In fall, the reds predominate again and finally the browns. This cycle is true for both macro algae and phytoplankton.

It is possible that the Gracillaria is filling a niche in western Ninigret once filled by eelgrass. Turbidity of the west-ern-pond water could be a reason the eel grass has retreated and could also explain why the red algae is out competing the green, which requires sunlight.

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SPC Meets with Westerly Harbor Plan Representative

SPC Executive Director Mark Bullinger met with Jane Buffum of the Westerly Harbor Management Planning Commission in late June to talk about the salt ponds. Two of the South County salt ponds fall within Westerly: Winnapaug Pond and the western portion of Quono-chontaug Pond. We covered topics in-cluding nutrient contamination, bacte-ria contamination and how landscaping and innovative stormwater management can help reduce both. We talked about the effects of cesspools and failing septic systems and about lawn chemicals in the coastal environment.

We also spoke about the terrible

constrictions in the breachways due to heavy siltation and an utter lack of main-tenance and caretaking on the part of the state. The Quonnie Pond inlet is filling in rapidly. Siltation has created a very large sand flat to the east of the passage into the pond and is building a bar headed due north across the pond. But as bad as it is, in Quonnie, Winnapaug is much worse. We mentioned the Charlestown group we are working with and suggested that a member of the harbor commission might like to join in.

We also mentioned the lack of pub-lic access to launch kayaks in both Win-napaug Pond and in the Watch Hill area. Both areas have pathetic public access sites with no parking. SPC would like to see real car-top launch areas with free parking for a reasonable number of cars, so people can get out on these resources.

Ponderings

The pond has been part of many lives for generations. Every day, people young and old, enjoy sailing, clamming and swimming on the pond. While my memories of the pond are more recent, my family’s memories reach back generations.

My great-grandmother, Mary (Mimi) Seed Cox, sailed the pond her entire life. Mimi last sailed the pond when she was ninety years old. Following that sail, Mimi related stories about her childhood and the pond. I particularly enjoyed one of Mimi’s teenaged recollections. Mimi recalled that she would sail across the pond to visit her friend on the other side. Of course, this was before cell phones, so calling or tex-

ting parents with your status weren’t op-tions. As an alternative, Mimi communi-cated by keeping her sail up to advise her mother that she would be home for lunch, or putting her sail down if she was to stay and have lunch with her friend.

Mimi’s sons shared her love of the pond. My grandfather, Ray (Papa) Cox, is a great Beetle Cat sailor. As a young man, Papa repeatedly won the New Eng-land Beetle Cat Championships. Sailing seems to have skipped a family genera-tion as my mother Landis and her siblings spent most of their time on the tennis courts. However, my brother Teddy now sails Optis and 420s on the pond nearly every summer day. Mimi’s love for sailing – and the pond - lives on…

The pond has been a part of Weeka-paug and the surrounding communities for many years. It has served as a means to sail, clam, swim, and in Mimi’s case, to communicate. Let’s keep the pond healthy and safe for generations to come. It should continue to be an essential ele-ment in all of our lives and families.

Lucy Best, age 13, Weekapaug, RI

So Why Are The Breachways Filling In?

In the 1950s the Army Corps of En-gineers dredged the breachways and lined them with stone. This dramatically in-creased the tidal flow speed through the breachways. The fast-moving currents al-low beach sand, suspended in the water by storm waves, to sweep into ponds. When the current exits the confines of the chan-nel and slows down, the sand settles to the bottom. Actually, Dr. John Boothroyd of URI describes it as more of tumbling ac-tion, whereby the current sweeps the sand along until it falls into a deep pocket or the current spreads out and slows down.

To prevent the ponds from filling in, the engineers dug settlement basins in the back sides of the channels, shortly before they reached the broader pond. The set-tlement basins create an eddy where the sand can settle and then be cleaned out on a regular basis. This design worked well - so well the basins filled up. Unfortunately, the state has never dredged the basins in Quonnie or Winnapaug Ponds. With-out the basins, the sand sweeps into the pond, where the current slows down and the sand settles to the bottom. Each year the sand bars and tidal flats stretch further into the ponds and further restrict the cir-culation of fresh ocean water.

Like most things in Rhode Island, the dredging - or lack thereof - comes down to money and politics. Rhode Is-land signed an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers assuming responsibil-ity to maintain the Federal government’s investment in the breachways, but for years state officials have said they have no money to do so.

What is needed now in Quonnie and Winnapaug is a full channel dredge to re-establish the flushing, and then regu-lar maintenance every two to five years depending on winter storms. In Quon-nie, the Weekapaug Foundation is seeking permits and funds to dredge, and Charles-town is looking at ways to finance regular catch-basin maintenance.

The Tidal Page Summer 2010 Page 10Page 10

tively small spill in our own front yard and make comparisons to what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico. In both cases, oil is not only on the surface, but mixed into the water column. With the North Cape spill, pounding waves did the mixing and in the Gulf disaster, pressure and chemical dispersants have been mixing it in.

We know from local experience with the North Cape that oil in the water column can cause profound mortality rates for many creatures.We have seen the devastation it causes to shellfish, which in our area included surf clams, hard clams, blue mussels, scallops and oysters. In our 828,000 gallon spill, we lost 150-million surf clams. In the Gulf, huge beds of both cultivated and wild shellfish are at risk of much more wide-spread exposure to petrochemicals.We have seen the risk that falls on migratory birds that happen to be in the region. Here in Rhode Island, we lost close to 3,000 diving ducks and several hundred loons. By early Au-gust, the first wave of some 50-million migratory birds, who utilize the Gulf marshes for winter habitat, or as a pit stop on their flight from the Arctic to South America, will start to arrive - many to recently oiled bays. We have seen the susceptibility of crustaceans to oil. In our case the lo-cal lobster population was hammered by the toxic nature of the oil, with up to 9-million killed. In the Gulf, shrimp are members of the same crustacean family.We lost around 4-million finfish to the North Cape oil. Fortunately our migratory predators were away for the winter. In the Gulf, the blowout hit at the busiest time of year with every major fish group in residence. Apex predators - from tunas to whales and dolphins - are not only swimming though an awful stew of hydrocar-bons, but are eating forage fish that have been eating petrochemicals.

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North Cape (continued from page 5) The higher up the food chain it goes, the more the toxins concentrate.In our local disaster, larval fish were not present in high numbers due to the time of year. In the Gulf, however, spawning season is in full swing and larval fish (including the endangered Bluefin Tuna that graces our waters in the summer) are likely dying by the millions.

Of course there are many variables and not everything about our spill applies to the Gulf, but by looking back at the events that took place on our shores fourteen years ago, perhaps we can better under-stand the potential scope of destruction that is taking place across the Gulf.

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What if it Happens Again?We posed that question to Rhode

Island DEM and were told by the emer-gency response coordinator that the Coast Guard is in the lead with oil spills and that we could consult the newly updated Geographic Response Plan (GRP) on the DEM website. We did so and found that it only covers the upper half of Narragan-sett Bay. Apparently no such plan exists for the south shore of Rhode Island. A GRP lays out specific protocols for the actual coastal features in the region it cov-ers and can be consulted in a hurry when problems arise.

Commander Paul Lattanzi of the USCG was more helpful. He feels the command and communication structure is much better than the public realizes and has benefitted from past oil spills as well as the emergency response planning follow-ing 9/11. Commander Lattanzi reports that if an event happens, the response procedure would follow a set protocol in which the national response center notifies the local parties - Coast Guard, DEM, RI Emergency Response and area fire depart-ments. A local incident Command Sys-tem is initiated, to include a three-party command structure made up of the Coast Guard (with a 51% vote), RI DEM ,and the responsible party. They would follow guidelines laid out in the Area Contin-

gency Plan, and look for specific guidance from a Geographic Response Plan - if one exists for the affected area. As mentioned above, we don’t have one.

Salt Ponds Coalition feels DEM should prepare a GRP for the South Shore , specifying such detail as where you anchor the boom in the breachways and where the skimmer truck parks. Response officials make the case that every spill is different and that detailed plans are not necessarily helpful. We feel that in the case of the salt ponds, there is a constant that should be well planned for. That con-stant is that in the event of a spill, there would be oil in the ocean water that would be drawn into the ponds with each rising tide. We feel there should be detailed plans on how to prevent or minimize that intrusion.

Actual response to a spill in Rhode Island waters is supplied by private com-panies who are under contract with trans-portation companies transiting our wa-terways. These companies maintain the inventory of supplies and equipment to rapidly respond to spills ranging from ten or fifteen gallons to full-scale disasters.

Are we better off now than we were during past events? Hard to say. It is most likely true that the communications would be better - between the standardization of emergency radio frequencies and the widespread use of cell phones, responders and decision makers would probably be in better contact with each other. We are concerned that there is no GRP for South County and worry that lack of such a plan really represents a lower priority for this region and less awareness of the natural characteristics of this region that could be important in the event of a spill.

It is also hard to know how efficient the sequence of events laid out by Com-mander Lattanzi would be on the local level. It is nice to know that much thought has gone into who would be contacted and how a command team would be set up. It would be even nicer if we had a GRP and practice response drills conducted here in local waters.

Page 10 The Tidal Page Summer 2010Page 10 Page 11

Fire Ants in Your Pants?

Thank You Charlestown Package Store

A biologist from UConn is studying an invasive sting-ing ant that is spreading in New England and is seeking help finding locations of this species. It is the only ant in the area that readily stings people. The sting is painful and may cause swelling and itching for a day or two, so anyone unfortunate enough to run into this insect usually remembers. For this rea-son, they are often able to locate the ant through reports from people who are active outdoors.

If you encounter stinging ants in your area, please let Prof. Adams know. Specific locations are very useful, such as street addresses or names of rivers, ponds or other landscape fea-tures. Negative answers are also helpful. They will be happy to answer any questions. The ant, Myrmica rubra, is sometimes called the “European fire ant.” They are reddish brown and about a quarter of an inch in length. Some basic information (including a photo) is available from Wikipedia:

Contact info:Eldridge AdamsProfessor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ConnecticutStorrs, CT 06269-3043Ant_Hunt@UConn.edu(860)-486-5894

URI Team Studying Well Water in Quonnie - Volunteers Assisting

Jessica Donohue, a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island studying hydrogeology, is conducting a groundwater study in Quonochontaug this summer. The goal is to gain an understanding of the hydrogeology and groundwater water quality in the salt ponds area of Charles-town. SPC helped her locate members of the community willing to volunteer to have their wells sampled as part of this study.

Jessica plans to collect samples of untreated water from seventy five to one hundred homes and complete on-site measurements of temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen, and lab measurements of several water quality parameters including alkalinity, iron, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. She will sam-ple three times, once during June/early July, again during late August, and a third time in late September/early October. This project will also help the community better understand the groundwater resources of the area. It should shed a little light on nutrient levels in the local groundwater and also look for seasonal changes in salinity. In some other seasonal coastal places, salinity levels go up as the season progresses, due to water table drawdown and salty ocean water pushing further inland to fill the void.

Many thanks to our friends Jane, Chris and Jon from the Charlestown Pack-age Store for providing the raffle prize for our July pizza fundraiser. They donated an in-home wine tasting and discussion for up to eight people. The winner of the raffle will help choose the theme of the tasting and then the wine-room experts will select a range of wines to explore that theme. For example, the prize winner might want to sample malbecs, or wines from specific region, or organic wines, or one of a thousand other themes. What a cool event to build an evening around! Charlestown Package Store is building that fine looking new post and beam structure just off Route 1 near Cross Mills. It was designed by Oyster Works of Charles-town, which is also managing the project and incorporates many environmental features, such as geo-thermal heating/cooling, and on site stormwater recharge.

Research You Can Help With

Once again, many thanks to the Hills for hosting our annual pizza fundraiser.

The annual pizza bake has become a summer tradition for many in South County. George and Cathy Hill not only host the party, they really make it what it is. The gardens, the gour-ment pizza, the fieldstone wood-fired oven; they are all created by the talented hands of this generous couple.

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