Committee to Save the North Pool
Latest News
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June 19, 2006 – We learned from the refuge that the gates were
opened on Thursday, June 15, in order to remove a couple feet of water.
The purpose was to drop the level in the North Pool as an aide to
removing water from Bill Forward Pool.
After opening the gates, however, no one remembered to close them until
Rick, with Tom in tow, managed to find someone at headquarters on Sunday,
June 18, 2006, who could get the gates closed.
So it was a mistake, and not a clandestine plot.
From Thursday through Sunday the water control gates were wide open.
The pool lost at least four feet of hard won fresh water.
During at least some of the high tides during that time, salt water from the Plum Island sound flowed back into the pool.
This has had the strange side effect of letting many large fish into the
pools which have now been seen in both Bill Forward and North Pools.
If these fish are Striped Bass, Morone saxatilisa, a salt water
fish that has been known to
colonize fresh water impoundments and other low salinity areas (e.g., Kerr
Lake, North Carolina and upper San Francisco Bay) we may have a new
component to the fish fauna in the pools.
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June 18, 2006 – At some time between 9:00 am on Friday, June 16,
2006, and 7:00 am on Saturday, June 17, 2006, the water control gates
on North Pool dike were opened and at least four feet of fresh water were
released from the North Pool.
We are still trying to determine what happened, and will report the reason
here when we find out.
Apparently the gates were kept open because during the high tide of
Sunday morning, June 18, 2006, salt water was seen rushing into
the North Pool through the control gates.
Here is a link to a page a photographs
that document the change in water levels and the inrushing of salt
water into the pool.
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May 15, 2005 – Tom Wetmore and Sue McGrath lead the Early Bird
Special Walk down the North Pool dike and encounter some of the rare
marsh bird surveys.
Read their report.
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May 13, 2005 – Tom and Luann Wetmore did their first canoe survey
of marsh birds in North Pool as volunteers for the Parker River NWR. Read
Tom's report.
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November 3, 2004 – Massachusetts Audubon released a
statement
on principles for decision making on the restoration of north pool.
The statement echos many of the points the committee has been
making.
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October 18, 2004 – Please reserve Thursday evening, November 4th, at 6:30 pm. The Parker River NWR staff is
holding a public informational meeting at that time to present their North Pool management plans.
The meeting is at their new headquarters at the corner of Ocean Avenue (the extension of Rolfe's Lane in
Newburyport) and the Plum Island Turnpike.
The entrance is off Ocean Avenue. Interested parties are invited to attend.
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October 15, 2004 – the Merrimack River Current published five articles related to the North Pool issue.
The articles are now online and can be read at
http://www2.townonline.com/byfield/.
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August 5, 2004 – Added a page of Least Bittern images taken at North Pool in July and
August of this year by Phil Brown.
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July 31, 2004 – Added a link to a letter from
Jim Berry, President of the Essex County Ornithological Club, to Janet Kenney, Refuge
Manager of Parker River NWR.
The letter highlights three areas of ornithological concern for the management of
the refuge, the first concerning the fresh water impoundments, and
how recent changes in management practices may have contributed to the steep decline in
marsh related bird species.
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July 28, 2004 – Added a link to Steve Grinley's Words on Birds
column that addressed the North Pool issue.
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July 15, 2004 – Added a link to a preview of Tom Wetmore’s
article on the
Marsh Birds of North Pool in the Spring and Summer of 2004, for an upcoming Bird Observer
issue, is available.
- July 6, 2004 – Added a link to Rick Heil's rebuttal of the refuge’s North Pool
Restoration Study Statement.
- July 4, 2004 – Boston Globe
article published
- July 4, 2004 – Link to Rick Heil's June 2003 open letter to Massbird added.
- June 28, 2004 – The Committee to Save the North Pool issued its first statement.
- June 27, 2004 – Several Committee members met with and were interviewed
by Boston Globe reporter David Rattigan at the North Pool.
An article on the issue is slated to appear in the Globe’s “North
Section” in this coming Sunday's paper.
Introduction
The Parker River N.W.R., Newburyport, Massachusetts, is proposing to destroy the North Pool and North Field systems
on Plum Island, converting them to salt marsh,
by breaching the North Pool dike and allowing unrestricted tidal flow into the area.
This map shows the extent of that tidal flow during normal high tides.
Astronomical high tides (spring tides) are considerably higher.
Though the official position of the refuge is that alternatives are still being considered, and no final plan exists,
in truth all alternatives under consideration include the destruction of the North Pool fresh water marsh.
In mid June, 2004, a group of concerned naturalists met and formed the
Committee to Save the North Pool to provide a focal point for opposition to the plan.
On June 28, 2004, the Committee issued its first official statement.
The statement lays out the Committee's position, and we urge all citizens with a
strong interest in the health and diversity of our natural world to read and consider the statement.
Writing Letters
If you are concerned about the effects of carrying out the proposal to destroy the North Pool,
we urge you to contact people involved in preparing the proposal or people who can influence
its future.
We have prepared two lists, one of politicians
and one of agency officials, for you to start
with.
We have also prepared our statements in printable form so you can include them as attachments in
letters.
Here is a printable form of the Committee's initial statement.
We will be adding new sections to this web site in the future.
Persons to Contact
Links
Rick Heil, Chairman
Tom Wetmore, Webmaster
June 19, 2006