The town of West Tisbury has begun a discussion about what, if anything, should be done to maintain the Mill Pond, a man-made impoundment of the Mill Brook in the center of West Tisbury. So far, the discussion has focused mainly on dredging the pond again; the pond was last dredged in 1970.
More than 50 people crowded into the reading room at the West Tisbury Public Library on Saturday to hear Beth Lambert, river restoration program coordinator for the state Division of Ecological Restoration, discuss the state’s policy of dam destruction as a way of restoring natural stream ecology.
The discussion presented last Saturday by Beth Lambert, the river restoration program coordinator for the commonwealth’s Division of Ecological Restoration offered a new perspective and other possibilities for us to consider. I want to thank Prudy Burt and the West Tisbury Library staff for hosting this talk. After listening, there appear to be more options available to the town that are worthy of discussion.
Opinions on the future of Mill Pond and the future of Mill Brook were more varied than the options at a Saturday afternoon forum held at the West Tisbury Library. The townspeople and others who packed the meeting room kept coming back to a central point: The pond and the brook that feeds it are among the town’s most valued resources and worthy of concern and some kind of action.
Without any action, experts say the pond will continue to choke as more and more sediment and organic materials continue to arrive and fill it.
Over 50 people turned out to hear Michael Hopper, president of the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition, talk about the successes and lessons learned from stream restoration efforts at Red Brook in Wareham, and the Quashnet River in Falmouth, and how those could be considered in the discussion about our own Mill Pond/Mill Brook. The program was taped by MVTV and will air daily for the next three weeks. Additionally, a DVD of Michael’s presentation is in circulation at the West Tisbury Library.
