Enforcement

The National Park Service's determination that Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing as a national historic site could have far-reaching implications for more than the proposed wind farm in the scenic coastal waters: Cape Cod fishermen, ferries, and even builders of some shorefront properties may be affected.

Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles said today that the state was examining its legal options to have the designation rescinded because it would place "profound" harm on future activities in the Sound.

The 560-square-mile area is the first swath of ocean to be determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. That decision on Monday, based on the Sound's cultural and spiritual significance for two Wampanoag tribes, means the 130-turbine Cape Wind project, and all future activities in the Sound that require a federal permit, will now have to consult with the Native Americans and try to minimize the projects' impact on the protected area. That consultation will be required even if the Sound is never actually formally listed on the Register.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

The porgy story is an argument for fishery management that brings a steady supply of product. There are plenty of success stories: The Atlantic sea scallop, the most valuable species in the region, is now managed that way.

But some say federal law is too rigid in setting timetables to bring back fisheries, and that can disrupt markets. The proposed Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009, sponsored by New Jersey U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th, is designed to ease rebuilding so commercial and recreational fishermen can make a living as stocks recover.

Current federal law requires fisheries to be rebuilt in 10 years, while the Pallone bill would extend that to 14 years. It’s opposed by environmental groups, and Rick Marks, an attorney for the fishing industry, says he does not see the bill getting anywhere.
Fishermen argue some management plans seem to mimic the boom-or-bust fishing cycles of the past. Instead of drastic cutbacks, they argue for keeping cutbacks slow and steady. They say many openings and closings of seasons for some species, such as black sea bass, disrupt the market.

The porgy provides an example of how failing to manage a stock can lead to disaster. Now the task is to rebuild the market and manage it to ensure a steady supply.

If it can be done, the porgy just may rule the winter waters off New Jersey once again.

Read the complete story at The Press of Atlantic City.

Federal officials on Monday agreed to a request by two Indian tribes for special protections for Nantucket Sound, a move that could delay construction of a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod.

The National Park Service said the sound is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant traditional cultural, historic and archaeological property.

The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes say the designation, which would come with new regulations for activity on the sound, is needed to preserve the tribe's sacred rituals.

The Wampanoag _ the tribe welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and is known as "the people of the first light" _ practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won't exist if the Cape Wind project's 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built several miles from the Cape Cod shore across a 25-square-mile swath of federal waters. The turbines would be visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha's Vineyard.

Read the complete story at WTOP.

In a new setback for a controversial wind farm proposed off Cape Cod, the National Park Service announced Monday that Nantucket Sound was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, guaranteeing further delays for the project.

Known as Cape Wind, the project is the nation’s first planned offshore wind farm and would cover 24 square miles in the sound, an area roughly the size of Manhattan. The park service decision came in response to a request from two Massachusetts Indian tribes, who said the 130 proposed wind turbines would thwart their spiritual ritual of greeting the sunrise, which requires unobstructed views across the sound, and disturb ancestral burial grounds.

The tribes — the Mashpee Wampanoag of Cape Cod and the Aquinnah Wampanoag of Martha’s Vineyard — sought the listing last fall, shortly before a final federal decision on the project was expected. The project has been in the works since 2001 and is strongly supported by Gov. Deval Patrick.

Read the complete story at The New York Times.