Tag Archives: Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge
Final Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge plan still irks Chatham officials
Town officials are considering possible litigation or legislative relief after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Wednesday released the final version of a new management plan for Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, including a disputed claim that the federal government has the right to manage fisheries on the Nantucket Sound side of the island. “The town feels strongly that this is an example of federal overreach where there isn’t the logic or the need for it,” said Jeffrey Dykens, chairman of the Chatham Board of Selectmen. In its draft plans, the wildlife service claimed it has the right to regulate fisheries — and banned many types of traditional fishing gear — within a 3,000-acre area of ocean below the low-water mark. Read the rest here 10:25
Chatham still fighting U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for control of fisheries in Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge
The town is primarily opposed to proposals in the plan that exert federal control over fisheries, in the coastal waters that fall within refuge boundaries, that typically were managed under state and town regulations, and with the taking of 717 acres of South Beach that Chatham claims is town property. The Monomoy plan sought to ban certain types of fishing they believed damaged the bottom habitat, including scallop, clam and mussel dredging, using a towed net to catch fish and fish weirs. Read the rest here 07:45
Chatham defends fishing rights as Feds’ ‘land grab’ disputed
After joining a makeshift band singing a cheeky rendition of Woody Guthrie’s famous folk song, “This is not your land, this is our land,” outside a public hearing on the expansion of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, shellfisherman Wendy Homer heard the distant sound of thunder.
“That’s our forefathers turning over in their graves,” Homer said. Read more here 15:06
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monomoy wildlife refuge plan fuels anger in Chatham
The plan contains a blanket prohibition on harvesting mussels, which are considered an important food source for migrating ducks such as eiders. It also prohibited the use of a brine solution that forces fast-digging razor clams to the surface making them easier to catch. Any type of gear that was dragged along the bottom, like a scallop dredge, is also not allowed in those waters as a new measure intended to help restore sea-floor habitat like eelgrass. Read more here 08:56
Government Shutdown: Monomoy shellfishing in dispute – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,”Harvesting must discontinue – Chatham Balk’s!
CHATHAM — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fanned an ongoing debate with Chatham when it informed town officials Thursday that the productive shellfish flats off were included in the government shutdown that has paralyzed Washington and halted everything from tours of the White House to roaming the Cape Cod National Seashore. more@capcodtimes 08:56
