Coonamessett Pond Association

Annual Newsletter August 2018

Board Officers Additional Board Members Donna Jewett, Eileen Assad President Carol Baker Ron Smolowitz John Pohlman, Vice President Don Sostek, Treasurer Andrea Woods, Secretary Jim Hain, Stewardship

Message from the President by Donna Jewett

This year has been an especially exciting and

productive year with the Coonamessett Pond

Association. We have new energy with

enthusiastic well-qualified board members who

are focused on making some significant changes.

Our goals as an organization are to “enhance and

maintain the ecological balance…and encourage

our neighbors and concerned citizens to join us

in our endeavors to protect and preserve this

treasure” for both the surrounding lands and the

water quality. We have teamed up with a

number of local and Cape wide organizations to

productively work together!

Working in concert with The 300 Committee

and town of Falmouth, this year our stewardship

committee, with the leadership of Jim Hain, took

on the project of cleaning up the old historic

Coonamessett Inn site (see article below).

Mary Kay Fox, President of the Friends of

the Mashpee and Fish

&Wildlife, has been

implementing her grant

money to help

repopulate “Monarch

Meadows” and by

planting native

wildflowers and other

flora for local

pollinators. She and

many volunteers have been engaging the local schools to set up

pollinating gardens. Last November, they

planted and seeded the field in the Dupee parcel

with the help of The 300 Committee,

AmeriCorps and the Conservation Commission.

We encourage you to

find ways to enjoy

and appreciate this

area! It maybe by

exploring the trails,

joining the walking

and birding tours, or

helping to remove

trash along the way

but we hope that you

can get out and come

visit these amazing

sites.

In order to help maintain and monitor the water

quality, we have also set out some goals! It has

been noted that there has been a lot of dumping

and boats with high hp engines that are illegally

launching at Souza parcel. The horsepower is

restricted 5 hp! Just a reminder that this

conservation area is officially closed after 8

pm. Both should be strictly enforced.

One of the biggest concerns has been lack of

enforcement and abuse of the conservation areas

with parties, fires, and trash! We have now

posted several friendly signs to remind

visitors of the regulations! We would

appreciate it if we could all get involved by

reporting any issues to our liaison, Julia Massi

or Officer Guthrie at the Falmouth Police

Department. They said: “If you see it or hear it,

report it!”

A new initiative is testing the pond water for

measuring its overall health. We are fortunate to

have an expert on water-quality testing on our

board, Dr. John Pohlman, a bio geochemist with

the USGS. He has been collaborating with the

US Dept. of Agriculture laboratories for water

testing equipment. The plan is to go out and

High school student and citizen scientist

Cora Pohlman displays the data sonde

used to collect the first water quality

data for the CPA monitoring program.

Photo Credit: John Pohlman

monitor approximate 9 sites throughout the year

to see the changes, and compare to reference

values for a “healthy pond”. This testing will

include, pH, contaminants and dissolved

oxygen, etc. (See article below for additional

detail.) And, we will provide further

information at the annual meeting. My

husband, Dave has designed a “Canoemaran” to

have a stable platform in going out to assist John

with the testing. They are also teaming up with

the Falmouth Water Stewards and APCC for the

blue-green algae monitoring and to get

additional expertise.

As the Coonamessett Pond is the largest

publicly accessible fresh water pond and also a

primary water source for the town, it’s even

more important to monitor and get some good

data before something more serious occurs.

They are hoping to have some data and results

soon.

Have you had the opportunity to visit the site of

improved river habitat of the Coonamessett

River Project Restoration? This fall, there was a

ribbon cutting presentation and a demonstration

of tagging the herring. It is hoped that more will

find their way to

the Coonamessett

Pond to spawn.

There are 5

species of

diadromous fish

(herring, blueback

herring, American

eel brook trout

(char) and white

perch). Native

plants are being

introduced along the riparian away and increase

wildlife has already been observed along this

improved riverine habitat.

These are just some of our activities. To further

promote our mission, as an organization, we

look forward to hosting more events and team

up with other organizations to better our

environment and for all to enjoy!

We are also updating our website:

www.coonamessettpondassociation.org. Have a

look!

See you at our Annual Mtg. Sunday, August

26 at 5:30 pm at the Coonamessett Farms!

(Details follow in this newsletter.)

What is the True Health of our Pond?

Monitoring begins!

By John Pohlman, VP of

CPA and bio geochemist

with USGS

The 158-acre Coonamessett

Pond is the centerpiece of our wonderful

environment. The health of the pond is a central

concern for our group. We swim, fish, and boat-

-but what do we really know about the pond? In

July 2018, the Coonamessett Pond Association

began a long- term science- based water

quality monitoring program to help answer

this question.

As you may know, excess nutrient inputs

coming from septic systems, lawn fertilizers and

other sources are recognized as a serious

environmental problem for the salt water ponds

and estuaries of Falmouth and Cape Cod. For

the very reason

that gardeners

apply fertilizer to

their lawns and

vegetable

gardens, the

addition of

nutrients to

aquatic systems

stimulates the

growth of algae

and other plants.

Although actively

growing plants

produce oxygen

that supports life,

when that

material sinks to

the dark bottom,

it forms a

Dave Jewett and John Pohlman set sail

on the R/V Canoemaran to collect water

Photo Credit: Donna Jewett

decaying sludge that consumes oxygen,

potentially creating a dead zone in which fish

and other animals cannot live. Much less is

known about how nutrient loading is affecting

our fresh water ponds. For that reason, the CPA

Board of Directors unanimously voted to initiate

a water quality monitoring program to assess the

condition of our beloved Coonamessett Pond.

While it appears that Coonamessett and Round

Ponds are presently healthy and stable, casual

conversations reveal that things may be

changing, but not for the better! Such anecdotal

evidence is valuable but, to truly access the

current health of the pond and maintain pristine

waters into the foreseeable future, science-based

observations are required. With that in mind, we

decided to monitor critical water quality

parameters at 8 stations in the Coonamessett

Pond and one in Round Pond. The stations are

evenly distributed and cover a range of depths to

help us identify where problems (if there are

any) may occur.

To date, we have completed a survey of the

water temperature, pH, specific conductivity and

dissolved oxygen using a water quality sonde (or

probe) provided by the US Geological Survey

(USGS) Coastal and Marine Science Center in

Woods Hole. We plan to share these results at

the upcoming annual meeting. Our initial

observations show that a large portion of the

pond’s deep central channel is experiencing low

oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Is that a

problem? Not necessarily. Coonamessett Pond

is a temperate lake that is expected to stratify (or

separate) into warm surface and deep cooler

waters in the summer. It is in the deeper waters

that are isolated from the atmosphere where the

oxygen depletes. As the seasons progress, the

waters are likely to mix and replenish the deep

water dissolved oxygen, thereby maintaining a

healthy balance through the year. However,

without sound scientific evidence, we are really

just guessing.

We also collected a set of 19 water samples from

our 9 stations from which we are having the

nitrogen and

phosphorus

content

analyzed

courtesy of the

US

Department of

Agriculture at

the UMass

Cranberry

Station in East

Wareham.

This

information

will indicate if

and where

excess

nutrients are present and which of these

elements is problematic. We are hopeful to have

data from these samples available to share at our

upcoming annual meeting along with the sonde

data. Casey Kennedy of the USDA will present

these results and a representative from the

Association to Preserve Cape Cod (AAPC) may

be there to share what they have learned about

the occurrence and effects of cyanobacterial

blooms in other freshwater ponds. In the

meantime, with help from our citizen scientists,

we will continue making observations that we

will share with you in the hope of raising

awareness for how we can work together to

preserve and protect Coonamessett and Round

Ponds.

Stewardship Report

Jim Hain, Chair, Stewardship Committee

One of the missions of the Coonamessett Pond

Association is that of stewardship in the

wonderful parcels surrounding the pond. This

involves trash pickup, trail clearing, and

educational programs. It also involves new

initiatives and new projects. Such an initiative

began in December 2017, when we partnered

with the Town of Falmouth, the 300 Committee,

and AmeriCorps to do a site clearing and trash

pickup at the former Coonamessett Inn site on

the hill at the north end of the pond. Since then,

the adjacent Cape Cod Country Club has joined

the partnership and has done a wonderful job of

regular mowing.

Future plans include placing of native and other

plants, and installing an educational kiosk

(similar to the one we did for the Atamannsit

barn site in the Dupee parcel. In concept, this

site and the educational/historical display will be

part of the Coonamessett Greenway Heritage

Trail. History, conservation, and open space

combine in this wonderful parcel―at 212 acres,

it was the first open-space parcel purchased by

the Town of Falmouth.

On the south side of the pond, Mary Kay Fox,

Mark Kasprzyk, and Alex Zollo dispersed seeds

for pollinators in the Dupee field on 20

November 2017. This provides habitat for bees

and monarch butterflies.

On the broader scale, we are continuing to

explore options for mitigation of vandalism and

littering. Several members of CPA pitched in

with trash pick-up, removal and dump- runs!

Volunteer efforts are central to the mission, and

we will be putting out a call for folks who are

willing and able to help. A small effort by a

large number of people will accomplish a great

deal. Success will require a continuing effort.

Part of this continuing effort is our “Green

Walks” program. With the arrival of summer

and good weather, and the need for at least some

of us to exercise and lose weight―let’s do our

Green Walks! Walk the trails or roadside, carry

a bag for trash pickup, maintain the

environment, get fresh air and exercise, and as a

bonus, get in shape and lose weight. This is a

two-for-one deal: good for you and good for the

environment. Yeah!

The Historic Coonamessett Inn

Beginning in the 1920s, the Coonamessett Inn, at the

north end of the pond, had dining facilities, a bar, and

overnight rooms at the end of a horse-shoe shaped

driveway. After a change in ownership in the 1950s, the

property, including the cabanas and snack bar down on

the beach, eventually fell into disrepair. The property

was acquired by the town in 1986, and the then-derelict

structures removed.

The historic inn site was recently rejuvenated. On

December 4, 2017, a dozen enthusiastic and dedicated

Group of young AmeriCorps people, armed with chain

saws, brush cutters, and loppers, did a major clean-up of

former Coonamessett Inn site at the North end of the

pond. They are pictured here with Pond Association

Steward, Jim Hain, front right.

The CPA Annual Meeting

Our annual meeting will be at The Coonamessett

Farm from 5:30-8:15. Located at 277 Hatchville Rd.

E. Falmouth. There will be a potluck before the

meeting. A Reminder that everyone is requested to bring

a dinner item in one of four categories: Appetizers,

salads, dinner items, and dessert. Please bring your

own alcohol beverages. (BYOB) and a dish to share for

8. The CPA will provide a variety of non-alcoholic

beverages, plates, napkins, utensils, colorful flower

arrangements, and general good cheer.

A brief meeting will follow after the dinner. It

includes the treasurer’s report, election of new board

members, and stewardship reports, followed by a

dynamic speaker, Chris Walz from the Long pasture

Wildlife Sanctuary.

Chris has been birding for 20 years and is entertaining in

his knowledge of birding and biodiversity. He has been

working for the Mass Audubon for 12 years leading

many programs of natural history especially involving

birds. He has monitored many of the osprey nests in

Barnstable Harbor as well as nest boxes for bluebirds,

tree shallows and chickadees. He has been a frequent

docent in our area. This spring, he led a birding tour,

sponsored by The 300 Committee, educating us about

the bird calls, wildlife and diverse nature of the Souza,

Dupee and Toner parcels.

We will also have a special guest Casey Kennedy of

USDA to briefly update us on the water quality testing

and issues of Coonamessett Pond. WE will have displays

and educational information to share with all! See you

there!