If a Saquatucket could stand on our shores again, we can only wonder what this Native American might think of our progress and where we have gone in this 20th Century, amazed with Harwich's incredible growth as it heads into a new Millennium. Do you think he would give a sigh of joy or shed a tear for what we have done with our Cape? As we attempt to pull out onto a bumper to bumper Route 28 in July, or try and find a place to park, or wonder why a pond's water no longer sparkles, or find the fishing just isn't the same, or the beach is always covered with seaweed, do you find yourself asking, what is going on here? Have we allowed our peninsula to become a casualty of our arrogance? Do we only have ourselves to blame? The wise Saquatucket will never know the answer, which we may learn.

Water quality issues in our several coastal ponds have become plainly obvious to abutters. The Cape's largest lake, Long Pond, continues to experience severe algal blooms and signs of eutrophication, a result of build-out and loss of control on landscaping measures and old-school septic system practices. A report conducted by the commission's water quality staff showed high phosphorus levels and oxygen depletion in the lower depths of that 740-acre lake. These conditions have led to numerous fish kills in recent years. Cape Cod Commission staff told Selectmen the cost of a comprehensive Long Pond Management Plan will be in the range of $100,000.

From pea soup to Guinness, the color of Skinequit Pond has varied from year to year based on the nature of algae blooms. But the Town's Natural Resources Department hopes to get a handle on the annual event, maybe even "turn the tide" on a process that could eventually lead to eutrophication. Progress was made in Skinequit this year, which was due in part to a grant that the department received from the Sweet Water Trust in Boston. A combination of barley straw bales, an aeration pump with two diffuser pads, and two large bio-chord frames were introduced to the pond in order to combat the algal blooms which have taken place in the past. These steps were rewarded with positive results and we thank the Skinequit Pond Owners Association for their cooperation. Much thanks to Wayne Fox, a Cape Cod Community College intern, who helped us with this project as well as many others.

Great Sand Lakes and Aunt Edies Pond are getting a more careful look as the Selectmen appoint more citizens to study the issues and by year's end the Selectmen formed a committee to collectively investigate pond water quality and issues threatening groundwater throughout the Town.

Unusual "jellyfish-like" masses determined as Bryozoan colonies were reported on the east shore of Hinckley's Pond late July. The gelatinous 8-pound blobs represent colonies of individuals that come together into masses several times a year, presumably for some form of asexual reproduction. The Bryozoans considered part of the animal kingdom are found only in turbid lake waters, and are not necessarily a sign of water pollution. However, their appearance is quite startling.

Water table issues may be exasperating the watershed. A late season drop in pond levels was of grave concern during what was a "La Nina" year of reported average rainfall. From a herring run standpoint, fish spawned in Long Pond became trapped after October, as the streambed of Princess Brook became bone dry. Experts are concerned that increasing water needs caused by build-out are having indirect impacts on the water table.

Along these lines, Cape Cod National Golf Course at Pleasant Bay was joined by the Brewster Captains course in seeking a combined increase in permitted irrigation cap from 195,000 gallon per day cap to 333,000 gallons, up approximately 70 percent. Pumping at Harwich owned Cranberry Valley Course has increased as well. Late in the year, Harwich moved plans along to consider land taking for yet another course north of the Mid Cape highway. The substantial water needs per day of a single golf course are equal to the water requirements of 400 homes. If we want to protect open space by inviting more golf, then planners should seriously consider low water need natural golf courses, like some on Nantucket and elsewhere, and golfers need to come to appreciate a Scottish style links.

The herring run was once again a busy location in late spring. The herring were seen at the fish ladder from March 20th through the beginning of June. The department continues to examine methods in order to preserve the fishery for years to come. For the first time, a water temperature-recording instrument was deployed in the run so that hourly water temperature readings could be taken and stored. It is our hope that in the future that this data could be used as one of the tools to predict the beginning of the run.

The development and follow through of the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Concern Management Plan was the top agenda priority during the year. Heinz Proft and Tom Leach attend many meetings concerning water quality testing, boating safety, dock & pier controls, aquaculture, and wild shellfishing. All these subgroups coordinated by Carole Ridley Associates explored issues and developed recommendations as the year closed. The ultimate preservation of this lovely resource is our goal.

Round Cove is one of seven sites in the Commonwealth, and the only one on the Cape, to receive assistance under the Shellfish Clean Waters Initiative to help clean up its shellfish beds. The program will allow state and federal agencies to come together and provide technical assistance to help identify pollution sources to shellfish beds and to determine solutions. Assistance will also be given to help find possible funding sources and to improve water quality and open shellfish beds. The six-acre embayment has been closed seasonally during the summer months due to pollution. The groundwater influence at Round Cove goes back to the Mid-Cape Highway and nitrate loading is believed responsible for increasing mats of sea lettuce that rob the Cove of oxygen. The decaying material then releases nitrogen back into the water.

Selectmen voted to hold off any increases on the dockage and mooring rates for the first year of the Millennium. The Waterways Commission recommended a 3% CPI index increase in the rate schedule across the board. However, Selectmen Chairman Dana Decosta said he would vote against an increase while the Town was sitting on a $2M surplus in its coffer from other sources and an expectation for more surplus after anticipated property re-evaluation. The Harbormaster expects to submit articles for desperate needs including personnel adjustments, replacing power centers, parking lot expansion and dredging reserve, which he said would chew up all the harbor profit.

The tuna just weren't biting this summer, but they made up for it by October. Rod and reel fishermen, who catch the largest portion of the bluefin tuna quota (654-metric-tons), slogged through the hot summer with not much else but dogfish biting. But with summer's end and cooler weather, the bluefin were suddenly in the mood. The action was especially hot 50 miles east of Harwich Port, with a big percentage of the fish caught in the Northeast being landed at Saquatucket and Wychmere Harbors. The marina was overbooked during the tuna blitz and pointed to a need to develop an improved landing protocol before next season.

Hope looms for a new Saquatucket Boat Ramp. The 30-year old boat ramp at Saquatucket Harbor may be in for a face lift as Conservation Commission has agreed to set the Order of Conditions on the Project at their meeting. The Town is being asked to refile for a Chapter 91 License as part of the process. Should all plans come together, the Public Access Board has agreed verbally to place the Saquatucket Ramp at the top of its funding priority list. The Access Board funded replacement of the Sesuit Harbor Ramp in Dennis this past year.

The workshop got a new roof this November. The leaky roof at 203 Bank Street was replaced after getting a thumbs down for several years, a sign of what happens as town financiers weigh projects. Repairs were also made to the marina electrical system pointing out the need to upgrade.

The Waterways Commission wrestled with the complex matter of controlling and limiting the usage of the harbor facilities. A ceiling was set on charter use giving the Board of Selectmen full control of issuing passenger carrying vessel permits; prohibiting conversion of recreational to commercial slip and vice versa; making all players come from the need specific waiting lists. The more than 800 people now signed onto waiting lists have been broken into four basic categories: commercial fishing berths; paid passenger carrying berths; recreational berths; and boat moorings. There are sub categories in each group.

At this time, virtually all offloading permits in all categories are assigned and interests of entrepreneurs to operate a business from the waterfront are kept in check by the significant wait for space. This is as it should be in a harbor system that is limited by its own size and dimension. Without such a solid plan all would be chaos.

Harwich has done its job well, developing the nuts and bolts of a proven plan long ago and we have held the catbird seat watching our neighboring towns begin to wrestle with formulating a similar plan as overcrowding hits the Cape. If there is a single overriding factor concerning the limitation of business on the waterfront it is clearly parking.

Nine articles have been submitted for the warrant for various harbor and natural resources needs. Included in these is a request seeking funds for adding 42 single auto parking spaces and widening the boat ramp parking spaces at Saquatucket Harbor.

The Town has just received its report card in the way of a Sanitary Survey for Saquatucket Harbor. The DMF Report suggests water quality improvement may be related to good management of this Federal No Discharge Area. If you consider the impact of this report, it is a certain sign that user-friendly pump-out facilities can and do make a difference in improving water quality. Saquatucket Harbor had been classified as "prohibited" for all shellfishing since June 1984. Although the area within the perimeter of the marina proper shall remain closed year-round to the harvest of shellfish, the area outside the perimeter has become conditionally approved for harvest between November 1 - May 14. Commercial shellfishermen in particular were able to take advantage of a windfall from the newly opened area.

It was another banner year in the Shellfish propagation lab located at Wychmere harbor. Three (3) million quahog seed were reared and grew from 1 mm to an average of 13-mm in size. Our largest seed grew as large as 22-26 mm. Much of this year's success can be attributed to reducing the number of seed we began with as well as shortening the length of pipe required to deliver the water into the upwelling system. The lab was also the site of our second Harwich High School summer aquaculture internship. The seven week program, overseen by Heinz Proft, enabled 4 Harwich High School students, Jamie Scarbrough, Megan Gaudet, Tommy Leach, and Dawn Lynch, along with a teaching supervisor, Mr. Troy Hopkins, to work closely with the Natural Resources Department to monitor and maintain the Shellfish nursery during its busiest time. Funding for the program was received from the Cape Cod Farm Bureau, Bell Atlantic, Harwich PTA, Town of Harwich, and the Cape Cod Community Foundation. We are very thankful for their support

Ongoing scientific data collection continued, including our involvement with the Massachusetts Phytoplankton Monitoring Program. The Town of Harwich collected more than 30 phytoplankton tows, the most of any year to date. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries coordinates this program. Data is collected from 18 stations along the coast of Massachusetts including the Cape and Islands to determine the location and densities of potential toxin-producing phytoplankton. Local water quality monitoring continued with over 70 samples collected and submitted to the Barnstable County Health Lab for inspection. Presently, the department is focusing on fecal coliform counts, nitrates, and phosphorus. Oceanographic data were also collected off the Harbormaster vessel COMMANDER at three long term sampling sites in Nantucket Sound. This was the second year that such data as water temperature, water salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity were collected from the long term sampling locations. Obtaining this data is important for detecting any changes over a multiyear period.

This past year saw the addition of more open shellfishing days in the Town of Harwich. Every day in the month of January, February, and March was opened for recreational shellfishing. This new schedule created a need for additional volunteer help to patrol the shellfish flats. Walton Macaughern, Jim Coyle, and Mike Cienava have nearly completed a full year of service and we are truly thankful for their dedication and hard work as assistant wardens. They are to be applauded for their effort.

The Conservation Commission withheld a grant of a Certificate of Compliance on the Order of Conditions it issued to the Old Mill Point Association more than a year ago, until it could determine whether a reconstructed groin is the cause of changes in the ocean bottom to the east. There have been some problems with that groin reconstruction project based upon complaints from shellfishermen. The initial reconstruction elevation was as much as two feet higher than the previous structure on the beach end. The Commission required the Old Mill Point Association to have the contractor come back in and lower the landward section to conform to the plans. It was thought that reconstruction of the structure would starve the ocean bottom to the East Side of wind-blown sand. More sand was brought in to raise the height of the beach allowing grains to blow across the groin and into the water on the East Side to nourish that area.

Challenges were also met and resolved on docks and structures at Oyster Creek and Wychmere Harbor. Most notably, the Barry family dock was granted permission to be reconstructed at the Northeast corner of Wychmere Harbor below the new family mansion now nearing completion. In each case, impacts on the environment and navigation conflicts must be weighed.

Town Meeting sent a message "we're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" voting to adopt a by-law prohibiting the launching of personal watercraft (jet skis) from all Town operated launch ramps on freshwater. Pond users and neighbors continued to cite numerous incidents of erratic behavior, noise and operation in the nighttime of the jet powered craft. This means public access for PWC on Long Pond, the Cape's largest pond, can only take place from the Brewster side. By late in the year the Town of Brewster proposed a similar by-law. By October the new by-law was accepted by the Attorney General so the 2000 boating season will mark the beginning of its enforcement which carries a $200 fine. Long Pond is patrolled through a contract between the Harwich Police and Brewster Police Department.

The County Dredge, CODFISH, was again used to maintenance dredge the entrance channel of Allen Harbor in November. This time 7,494 cubic yards of sand was used in its entirety as beach fill for sand-starved Earle Road public beach. The project cost was $34,098. The move of the channel disposal area to the west was unprecedented as until now all nourishment from prior Allen Harbor projects had been to easterly beaches. It was clear that nourishment of the private beach at Wyndemere Bluffs left residents there arguing over beach nourishment vs. dune grass management issues leaving the Town Administrator to make the difficult decision for the Town, opting for sending the dredged sand to Earle Road.

In this connection, we attended the CZM East Coast Sand-Mining workshop in Plymouth trying to understand more how Harwich might take advantage of alternative ideas for replenishing the beaches. An article submitted for this purpose did not gain the support of either Selectmen or Finance Committee at town meeting. Hopefully, the Town will eventually see the wisdom of developing a beach nourishment program. After all, our beaches are Harwich's most important asset protecting us from storm waves and a great tourist attraction.

The Harwich High School Sailing team became an obvious part of the waterfront activities this year. 1999 saw an influx of a solid corps of freshmen and the team boosted its record to 7-3. The team is now a full member of the New England Interscholastic Sailing Association. The team was 2nd out of all schools at the Tabor Academy Invitational; 1st in the Cape & Islands Invitational; 5th at the Mass State Championships. Coach John Dickson, who received his training on Pleasant Bay and the Harvard Varsity Sailing Club, instills a sense of purpose to the team. The challenge of short course one-design sailboat racing requires student crews to make quick strategic decisions in difficult and tight situations to be successful. High school sailing teams are extraordinary and we are proud to know that the Harwich School Administration recognizes the Harwich High Sailing Team as a natural for our unique Cape Cod Town.

Our request for a fulltime principal clerk fell short as funding for a part time clerk was given. We again request that this position be made fulltime. The business of this department as a revenue and bill paying generator is as serious as any with the thousands of postings weighing down the department head without such assistance. Our highly skilled clerk, Jenna Bossung, has shown her worth handling reams of permits that are now part of the harbor system and assisting new challenges that include grantsmanship skills and beyond. Her formal knowledge of Coastal Resources and planning has gone a long way in getting the Natural Resources Department ahead over this past year.

John Reinders and John Sweeney were hired to share and fill out seasonal harbor patrol duties on Pleasant Bay and at Harwich Port. We maintained a regular presence on the Bay implementing the wishes of the ACEC plan.

Tom Leach was certified and graduated in June with the 2nd class of the Massachusetts Harbormaster Academy held over the last year and a half at Mass Maritime Academy. Heinz Proft had been scheduled to attend the Mass Shellfish Officers Training Course only to find this class was canceled due to lack of enough interest. That 2 week course is rescheduled for January 2000.

Matt McLaughlin, a senior at Boston College, worked his second season as Assistant Harbormaster overseeing week and weekend boating traffic at Saquatucket Marina. Matt is our staff computer technologist and ham radio expert. Summer intern Cristy Aspuru has returned to Wheaton College to complete her senior year majoring in Chemistry/Environmental Science.

We want to express our gratitude to a list of town employees as they retire or move on to greener pastures at the close of this century. Thank you in the warmest sense to Police Chief Bill Greenwood, Water Superintendent Barry Woods, Planners Mike Pessolano and Susan Ladue, and DPW Chief Alice Norgeot, all of whom gave their vigor and energy when it came to assisting this Department whenever asked.

The Natural Resources Department is indebted for all of the assistance we received from our many volunteers and boaters who lent a hand. We are pleased to see the general public becoming ever more environmentally conscious and volunteering their help. We look forward to their continued support and a very productive year 2000.

Tom Leach,
Harbormaster/Wharfinger
Natural Resources Director

Heinz Proft, Assistant