The following is a letter to the Coalition for Buzzards Bay and its president, Mark Rasmussen, regarding the coalition's plan to remove the dam at Hathaway Pond.  The coalition intends to remove the dam in order to restore the Sippican River to the way it existed prior to the erection of the dam over 200 years ago.

August 8, 2011

Coalition for Buzzards Bay Inc.

114 Front St.

New Bedford, MA  02740

RE:  Hathaway Pond and the Dam that creates it

We hope that the Coalition for Buzzards Bay, Inc. (CBB) will listen to the community, and reconsider their position on this important fishery, recreation and agriculture resource.

During the past several weeks more than 20 community members have been circulating the attached petition.  The petition is signed by more than 450 concerned citizens including: Rochester and Marion Selectmen, Marion Conservation Commission members, Representative Bill Straus, over a dozen cranberry growers from Rochester, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Carver, business owners, engineers, doctors, lawyers, neighbors, retirees, homeowners, and hundreds of local citizens. They want their voices heard and they want the dam repaired and Hathaway Pond restored.

Leaders in this effort include: Doug Beaton (owner Beaton's Inc.), Dave Watling (Rochester Herring Inspector), Jim Gurney (Marion Herring Inspector), Arthur Benner, (President of Alewives Anonymous), and Fred Underhill (former Rochester Selectman, current member of the Historic Commission and Water Commissioner).

You should also be aware of documents from Alewives Anonymous, Mass Division of Marine Fisheries and Herring Inspector, all stating that Hathaway Pond is a spawning area for herring.  Their expert opinions are supported by several Mass DMR studies on the issue and your own report from Inter-Fluve, Inc.  It may not be the ideal spawning location, however is has been the most successful of the two ponds on the Sippican River and we cannot afford to lose another spawning season.

Community based projects such as this are ALWAYS supposed to have broad and overwhelming support from those who are most affected.  Your designs on Hathaway Pond and the Dam are not supported. The community does not want the Hathaway Pond ecosystem changed.  No elected or appointed boards in Rochester or Marion have endorsed this project.

The pond was full of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.  It was a spawning ground for herring, home to swans, geese, otters and hundreds of other creatures.  It was a reservoir available to local farmers for frost protection, irrigation, harvest and winter flooding.  It was available for fishing, kayaking and just plain relaxation.  It was millions of gallons of water and acres of wetlands that had survived for centuries.  It was a recreational, agricultural and fisheries resource.  We want it back.

When you purchased the dam you knew it was in disrepair and that an order from DCR was in-place. You knew or should have known that at least one abutter had deeded property rights.  The permitting process relies heavily on public meetings and has many levels of regulatory oversight.  This process is designed so that all important information can be reviewed and weighed, and so that local interests can be prioritized before permitting any significant and permanent changes to long standing ecosystems.

We hope that you will understand and respect the wishes of our community to restore Hathaway Pond as a valuable fishery, agricultural and recreational resource.

Sincerely,

Doug Beaton, Beaton’s Inc.

Brad Morse, Rochester Selectman, President Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association

David Watling, Rochester Herring Inspector

James Gurney, Marion Herring Inspector

Walter R. Hartley, Greenwood Hartley, III, Hartley-Rhodes, Inc.

Arthur Benner, President Alewives Anonymous

William Straus, State Representative

Over 450 additional petition signatories (sent by electronic transmission, PDF file)