Letter: Don’t blame waterfowl for Nanaquacket water quality woes

Posted 4/21/21

To the editor:

Ever since a sign appeared on the shore of the Nanaquaket Pond inlet prohibiting the feeding of waterfowl, I have contemplated writing a letter in defense of the people who derive …

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Letter: Don’t blame waterfowl for Nanaquacket water quality woes

Posted

To the editor:

Ever since a sign appeared on the shore of the Nanaquaket Pond inlet prohibiting the feeding of waterfowl, I have contemplated writing a letter in defense of the people who derive pleasure from doing so. Many brought children who have learned to respect and have compassion for them, all creatures included.

The Department of Environmental Management (Wildlife Division) has chosen to blame the waterfowl for pollution of water quality in Nanaquaket Pond.

I have been a close neighbor of the area and have been aware of much greater factors that have contributed to the bad quality of water in the pond that has led to the disappearance of shellfish.

The shellfish depletion began when runoff from the Tiverton High School sewage plant was allowed to flow into the wetlands via Sin and Flesh Brook and from there into Nanaquaket Pond — which we objected to.

A second factor that contributes to this day is allowing pleasure craft into the pond with high-powered motors that leak gasoline, churn up the bottom and kill the different grasses that some of the shellfish need to spawn (i.e. scallops) in or on.

During a bad winter, like the one e had a few years ago, a lot of the waterfowl perish from starvation. They need to put on body fat to sustain themselves through the winter.

I hope the DEM will remove the sign and put the blame where it belongs.

E. Belisle

Tiverton

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