Unspoiled beaches. A quiet, rural island community. Canoes and kayaks for rent. Cool caps and T-shirts for sale. Hundreds of cars. Long ferry lines. Fresh talk about how to manage it all.
This is the latest sketch from Chappaquiddick, where discussion has begun to heat up around a new long-range plan for two key properties owned by The Trustees of Reservations: Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge and Wasque Reservation.
It's not so much about the land anymore, it's about the
people - especially the neighbors.
This is the central theme that runs through a new management plan
released this week for two key properties owned by The Trustees of
Reservations on Chappaquiddick.
Little changed from a draft that was released last spring, the new
plan sketches the outlines for a future Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge and
Wasque Reservation that could include:
Land Bank's Chappaquiddick ‘Prize' Will Bring
Island Trail to Pond's Edge
By JULIA WELLS
The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank announced this week that it
will buy the Wasey property on Chappaquiddick, a grassy, windblown
four-acre crest that embraces the unspoiled inner shore of Cape Pogue
Pond.
Chappy Landowners File Formal Appeal to State Tax Board
By IAN FEIN
More than two dozen Chappaquiddick landowners took their property
tax disputes to the state last week, filing formal appeals of their town
property assessments at the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board.
The 26 property owners are challenging the values of 46 individual
parcels, currently assessed by the town of Edgartown at a total of $116
million.
A property tax revolt is quietly brewing on Chappaquiddick, where a large group of landowners have banded together and hired an attorney to challenge their latest property assessments.
As a general contractor based on Chappaquiddick, Richard S. Knight
Jr. recognizes that the Vineyard will inevitably reach a point where all
the land is accounted for and there is no more room to build.
"We're an Island, and there's only a finite amount
of land left, so eventually we'll hit buildout," Mr. Knight
said. "Sooner or later, it's going to come. And I think
we're coming down to the end of it."
Mariners beware. Tides and currents have changed dramatically in Edgartown harbor since the breach of Norton Point beach in April and the federal government has no plans to establish new tide or current tables soon. The power of the current in Edgartown Harbor is not only three times faster at Chappaquiddick Point, nobody yet knows with certainty when high or low tide takes place.
In its management of Norton Point Beach, which is owned by Dukes County, the Trustees of Reservations produced a net surplus of $16,785 in the last fiscal year.
The county will receive more than $3,000 of that money through an agreement with the conservation group. Two years ago, the county enlisted the help of the Trustees to manage Norton Point beach with an agreement that the county would receive 20 per cent of what the group earned at the public beach.
Editor’s Note: Some stories just have to be written down. Such is the case with Edo Potter’s story of life at Pimpneymouse Farm on Chappaquiddick that began for her nearly 80 years ago at the age of four, and continues today. The Last Farm on Chappaquiddick is at once a memoir, history book and chronicle of a changing island. Written by Mrs. Potter and published by Vineyard Stories, the book will be on sale at Edgartown Books, Bunch of Grapes, in Island stores and through the Vineyard Stories Web site (vineyardstories.com).
It’s not surprising that Edo Potter’s favorite piece of conservation land is the next one. For decades she has been instrumental in acquiring plot after plot on her beloved Chappaquiddick for public use and enjoyment by future generations. She’s confident about the future of conservation on Martha’s Vineyard because of the health of the Island’s numerous environmental groups and their remarkable track record, both of which owe in large part to her tireless efforts.
