The Wasque Reservation sandplain curves downward to the dunes disappearing into the indigo waves of Katama Bay off Chappaquiddick. The white-crested breakers recede into fog above the ocean.
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.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank has signed a contract to purchase 41.1 acres on Chappaquiddick, including some 900 feet of shoreline on Cape Pogue Bay.
The acquisition will be added to its existing Three Ponds Reservation, bringing the total contiguous land area to 357.7 acres.
In an announcement on Monday, the land bank said the land, at the end of Jeffers Lane, would cost $4.95 million. The sellers are Judith Self Murphy, E. Baldwin Self Jr. and Karen Self Osler.
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).
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.
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.
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."
