1/19/1978 CONSERVATION COMMISSION Minutes

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{ f him this would happen - this particular person is going to go to the State House now that he found out that they would approve it, He said that Lou ambl , Chief of the Southeast District of Fish and Wildlife., says they can- not-manage a - not-manage that pond - he cannot manage it if this monstrosity is allowed to occur - there is no way he can manage smallmouth bass or trout in there. He said that he just doesn't see that there's any way they can alloy this thing to core to completion. e further said that there's nobody in to state or government, except DEQE, that is willing to see it go through. Mr. Coleman said that 'it is inconceivable in view of the John's Fond pro- blem that they'-re going to create another one 500 yards array. Mrs. Studley asked why they didn't make their objections more generally mown at the Mash,- Pee Conservation Commission hearing of April 7, 1977, adding that it was on the basis of ,that discussion that the Commission made their determination everybody went out of that meeting sati sf Ied. Mr. Coleman said that he for one, as a lay person, was completely un- prepared., that he just didn't recognize the import rt of the proposed project. He said that he had no .ideas at the time of PH content of fresh water, he didn't know that the seeds of water plants would travel through the type of channel. that's proposed into Ashuraet Pond. He said he went home and thought about the thing and decided that he had to get more information. That's when he got in touch with Matt Souza and a summer resident of Ashumet Fond and that's when he learned what was going on. He didn't know theproblers of the John's Pond, Carol. Jacobson for one., and they told him the problems. He further said that suddenly he knew he was opposed and it was too late. He said he wasn't prepared and no matter who agrees with him, Mr. Wheeler and his lawyer and engineer made an excellent case for themselves. Had he not consulted other people, he would have said, "go ahead." Mrs. Sloane asked if they leave it as it is, what's going to happen. Mr. Coleman said that if the water level on Ashumet Pond rises and falls and if t he y have more or le ss f al 1 and/or small fall, the wate r will move in a.nd out of that pond. Their position is that they will accept what 'has been in existence for sometime - they feel that it's natureIg way - because in drought periods the channel is closed - when Ashumet Pond drops a certain number of feet, there is no flow of water and that pond tends to dry up. He mentioned northerly winds piling ice and wages up on the pond, it will build sand up into this channel - under certain weather conditions that little channel is blocked- off -- they will accept that. If it opens with a heavy rain fall, they will accept that. They feel in time that that little body ofwater will dry up - it is not spring-fed. They feel it will dry up and go away event- ually - they'll accept that., Mr. Dias mentioned the mos uito control problem that that would bring, adding that they're going to open that up for that purpose. Mr. Coleman said that when Mr. Wheeler said that was a breeding place for mosquitoes, if he felt that way about it, then he should fill it in. 14r. Dias pointed out that you can't fill boggy land i . Mr. Coleman said that if he wants to fill that .in it will create 2.8 acres of land for- him to sell. He also said that last win- ter Ashumet Pond was so frozen, cars could go across, but not a drop of water in that little body of grater* is frozen to the bottom. Most rainbows iron't go in a place like that - there 's trash fish in there - the state 's not interested n it because it is a bre ding place for trash fish. They're food for the trout and the bass. He also said that Fish and Wildlife have managed it and are not interested in this little body of water. Mrs. Sloane said that in a sense it will he destroying pant of the cycle good fish eating the bad fish. Mr. Coleman said that Ashumet Pond was first reclaimed in the arty o t s - ve ars later th v chid a ear tial h r li p. re.