2021-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finally,on a personal note,I have owned a second We work closely with the Harbormaster, the home near Waquoit Bay in East Falmouth for over 23 Shellfish Constable (who are a part of the DNR years and have mostly spent the summer months there. Department) and the Department of Public Works as I have dreamed of eventually spending most of my time well as Town Management and the Select Board. We on Cape Cod.Being fortunate enough to be chosen for oversee Improvement Dredging projects,Maintenance this position has enabled me to do so and also to Dredging projects, the Water Quality measurement discover Mashpee and some of its people and places. process, and public access to the waters. We continue The Mashpee citizens have shown an amazing amount to review future embayment projects in Waquoit and of public participation in many areas, especially in Popponesset Bays. protecting their water resources. The Town employees are a fantastic group of qualified and dedicated people MAINTENANCE DREDGING and an absolute pleasure to work with. The Our dredging effort in 2021 was highlighted by Management staff and Department heads are top notch. multiple dredging projects for the Popponesset Bay. The Town and its population are very diverse and have We completed the Popponesset Approach Channel in a uniqueness through its resources,people and history. Nantucket Sound which is a project planned annually The freshwater and saltwater estuaries we are all tasked and has enabled us to replenish the beach sand on the to protect are fantastic resources. I have lived 4 miles Popponesset Spit that is the protector of our Bay and is from Mashpee for 23 years and never realized how a primary nesting area for migrating Plovers and Least amazing a Town it is. I would like to thank all for Terns. Additionally, this past year, we dredged the allowing me to be part of this Town and also part of the Inner Channel that runs along the inside of the Spit and solution in cleaning up its precious waterways, some the 1916 Channel that traverses the Bay itself. Both of of which I have enjoyed with my family for over two these projects added considerably to our beach decades. replenishment efforts. Chris Gallagher Beyond that we continued moving forward with Town Engineer preparations for the Little River/Great River Expansion Project that will have a positive impact on the navigation of both rivers and the ponds they connect. The expansion plan's goal is to extend the existing Report of the River Channel south into Waquoit Bay connecting to Waterways Commission the main Bay Channel and north to both Hamblin Pond and Jehu Pond. We will also connect the Great River Ramp to the Great River Channel. To date we have To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the completed the Hydrographic survey and sediment Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: sampling and analysis so that we can determine where we can safely dispose of the dredge materials. We The Mashpee Waterways Commission presently recently completed the Notice of Intent which will be meets on a monthly basis (2nd Tuesday each month, filed with the Mashpee Conservation Commission and 9AM) at the Town Hall to deliberate on Waterways Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program for related topics. Again,this year,due to the pandemic,a review. With those approvals in place we will focus on number of our in person meetings were replaced with State and Federal requirements needed for our Zoom meetings. applications for permits and licenses. Our goal is to maintain and improve our We also completed a study under the auspices of waterways thus improving the safety of boaters on the UMass Dartmouth's School of Marine Science & bays,lakes,ponds and rivers. We also strive to help the Technology to assess the benefits of dredging on improvement of our water quality with dredging while improving tidal surge and to determine if there are any paying attention to effects of climate change and significant tidal restrictions in either the Great River or coastal resilience issues. Our efforts improve and Little River sub-systems. Identifying restrictions is support the recreational interests of the Town. important because such restrictions effect tidal flushing and water quality throughout the system. The results indicated that we have no such restrictions at this time that would impact tidal flushing. 162