Posted on August 14, 2017
By Mary McKenzie, Wicked Local
After hearing from oysterman Steve Patterson, co-owner of the Crooked River Shellfish Farm, about the unique environment of Wareham for native oysters, the Marine Resources Commission said Wednesday it is seeking the help of the Army Corps of Engineers for dredging projects throughout the community, with Wareham River a specific target.
“Wareham is one of the very few places in the state, or in the Northeast for that matter, where oysters are native,” said Patterson, noting that Wellfleet and Marion also offer a mixture of fresh and saltwater for the growth of oysters. “It is just the right environment for oysters.”
With this in mind, and preservation of Wareham’s many coastal waterways, the group is hoping to garner federal resources to maintain navigational channels.
“As a group we recognize that the harbor, rivers and coast of Wareham are our greatest resource,” said member Larry Bearse. “The rivers and harbors, particularly the Wareham River, need to be maintained.”
“We need the whole community working on this,” said Marine Resources Commission Chairman Don Jepson, noting that he would like to see maintenance of water navigation channels to be part of the town’s master plan. “We want to have everyone on board because we recognize that the thing that really separates Wareham from everyone else is our coastline. We have to do our homework here, and make a consolidated effort across Wareham for this (dredging plan) because there are a lot of people who come to Wareham for our coastline. It is intricately tied to our financial well-being.”
Chairman Jepson, along with MRC member Bearse and Selectman Alan Slavin, who is a liaison to the MRC, attended Gov. Charlie Baker’s “Dredging Listening Session – South Shore” on Aug. 2 in Plymouth.
The three town leaders attended to speak the case for Wareham’s dredging projects.
“I spoke (at the meeting) about the issue that losing our beaches in Wareham financially impacts tourism,” said Slavin. “If you go to Pinehurst at high tide, water is up against the seawall now, there is no beach … I’d say these changes have happened more dramatically in the last 10 years than over the last 40 years.”
Bearse said that since the federal government created the navigation channels in Wareham River and many other spots in the community’s waterways, the established depth of the waterway needs to be maintained so that “people using it know how much depth they can expect.”
Bearse said that MRC recognizes that there are many other communities vying for federal money.
“We know that there are limited resources,” he said. “We know that there is huge competition for those dollars and there is a widespread belief that the federal government is discontinuing some things they supported before, because of economic concerns, but if the federal government created the navigation channel, it is their responsibility to maintain it. If they don’t do it, it falls on the town of Wareham to absorb the many millions of dollars it is going to cost to do this.”
Source: Wicked Local
