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Comprehensive P l a n z o z z <br /> (DRAFT 03/18/22) <br /> Wright's rosette-grass Vascular Plant Special Concern 1926 <br /> Source:MassWiidiife's Natural Heritage&Endangered Species Program Rare Species Viewer <br /> NHESP Estimated Habitat of Rare Wildlife Map is needed in this section. We will map this information <br /> through MassGIS Data: NHESP Estimated Habitats of Rare Wildlife. <br /> Additionally,contaminants,dams,and turbines of hydropower plants affect eels during migration,which <br /> no longer have access to their historical habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). High amounts of <br /> phytoplankton are adding to oxygen depletion and loss of fish, shellfish, and bottom-dwelling animals <br /> and organisms (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2023.). New England cottontails have faced an <br /> extreme decline in Massachusetts and are being tracked on Cape Cod (Town of Mashpee). Prescribed <br /> burns have been carried out on conservation land to remove mature trees and allow regrowth of low <br /> shrubs, which are preferred by cottontails to hide in (Town of Mashpee). The town also supports bird <br /> species of high conservation priority, including the endangered saltmarsh sparrow, and several near- <br /> threatened species in the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge (Avibase -The World Bird Database). <br /> 4.2.8 Surface Water <br /> Surface water is any body of water above ground, including oceans, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, <br /> reservoirs, and creeks (National Geographic Resource Library, 2023.). Surface water plays a vitally <br /> important role as it is relied on for many human uses. It is an important source of drinking water and is <br /> used for the irrigation of farmland. A watershed is a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to <br /> these surface water bodies. The health and quality of a watershed are directly linked to the health and <br /> quality of its receiving surface water bodies. Mashpee is part of the Cape Cod watershed. <br /> Mashpee is bordered by Waquoit Bay to the west and Popponesset Bay to the east and includes several <br /> small rivers, brooks,and small ponds in the area.Waquoit Bay contains open waters,salt,fresh marshes, <br /> barrier beaches, dunes, rivers, mixed pine and oak forests, and sandplain grasslands that are important <br /> to commercial and recreational shellfish and finfish fisheries (Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research <br /> Reserve).The Town manages four of the largest freshwater ponds on the Cape, including Ashumet Pond, <br /> Johns Pond, Mashpee-Wakeby Pond, and the Santuit Pond (Town of Mashpee). <br /> The Mashpee River, which begins at Mashpee/Wakeby Pond and empties into Popponesset Bay, has <br /> excellent water quality(The Trustees of Reservations). The Waquoit Bay, Santuit Pond, Ashumet Pond, <br /> and Popponesset Creek require a total maximum daily load (TMDL) according to the U.S. Clean Water <br /> Act. A TMDL is a regulatory term describing a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the <br /> maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality <br /> standards.All water quality impairments are summarized in Table 4-3 below. <br /> Water Body Impairment <br /> Mashpee River Category 2: Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others. <br /> Quashnet River Category 2: Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others. <br /> Santuit River Category 2: Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others. <br /> Childs River Category 2: Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others. <br /> Red Brook Category 2: Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others. <br /> westonandsampson.com 7 Weston <br />