Field Notes
by Peter B Brace

FIELD STATION OPEN HOUSE Though open to the public most of the time, the UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station/Grace Grossman Environmental Center is holding its 5th annual open house on Sept. 24 to show Nantucketers its extraordinary backyard.

Just off Polpis Road at Number 180 down a winding driveway, the field station sits overlooking Nantucket Harbor and Folger's Marsh. A stronghold of ecological research on the island since 1969, the field station is a place for discovery for all islanders and those suspected of being islanders.

On Sunday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. rain or shine, field station director Sarah Oktay will welcome the public onto the 110-acre property for a more formal introduction to its offerings. There will be guided beach and nature trail walks, Nantucket science presentations, a harbor plan presentation and free food and drink.

The open house will also feature a WUMB Listener Appreciation Concert with New York singer-songwriter Christopher Williams.

HARBOR PLAN COMMITTEE MEETINGS Now that the update of the 1993 Harbor Action plan is being guided by an advisory committee there are more chances for you, the friend of Nantucket's harbors, to speak your mind and help the process along.

Ray Owen and Jess Campbell's award-winning, record-breaking 722 lb. pumpkin on display at the Island Fair in Tom Nevers on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Two of those opportunities are tomorrow afternoon and Sept. 28 when the Harbor Plan Advisory Committee meets. Sept. 21's meeting is on public access and zoning and Sept. 28's agenda is more or less open for discussion of other issues and a review of previous issues. All meetings are in the conference room of the the Planning Department's new digs at 2 Fairgrounds Road at 4 p.m.

WETLANDS ACT REAUTHORIZED One hundred five million acres is what remains of the wetlands in the U.S. and all of it stays under the protection of the federal government thanks to the reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989.

On Sept. 12, the House of Representatives passed the reauthorization bill without any debate, agreeing to fund wetlands conservation plans to the tune of $375 million over the next five years. Since the federal government handed out the first wetland conservation grant 15 years ago, more than 1,500 conservation programs have been funded dealing with 3,200 agencies, which protected, revamped or restored over 23 million acres of wetlands and related habitat.

With more than half of the wetlands in the U.S. destroyed already, around 80,000 acres are lost each year to draining and development.

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND Have you ever stood on a bluff overlooking a beach during an ocean storm and felt the full force of the wind almost lift you off the ground and blow you back into the dunes? That's how the people at Clean Power Now feel about their mission to promote wind energy projects such as Cape Wind's 130-wind-turbine wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. To generate more awareness about

their cause, Clean Power Now is holding Wind Jam 2006 at the Sons of Italy Hall on the Mashpee/Cotuit line on Rt. 28 on Saturday.

The event features Clean Power Now's Clean Energy Design renewable energy trailer packed with renewable energy solutions for your home. Throughout the day, there will be kite flying with Johnny Hoy and Bluefish and the Rock It Ups performing. There is a buffet at 6 p.m. and a silent auction, which closes at 9:30 p.m.

The event starts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $25 at the gate. The all-you-can-eat buffet costs an additional $10. For more details and contact information, call Clean Power Now at 508-775-7796 or check out their Web site at www.cleanpowernow. org/index.php.

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