Field Notes
by Peter B Brace
CALLING ALL TOWNMEETING AND ZONING JUNKIES

Not being ones to shy away from meetings, the Planning Board gets right back to work after the holidays with a special meeting on zoning articles that could possibly appear on the warrant of the 2007 Town Meeting in April.

On the docket for this get-together scheduled for Jan. 4 is a discussion between the board and Planning Director Andrew Vorce on zoning articles that were adopted in 2006. Vorce said he wants to get a sense of direction from the board on where to head next with the creation of the 41-81D Master Plan in terms of zoning change articles. This discussion, said Vorce, is likely to lead to rough ideas for zoning articles for the 2007 Annual Town Meeting. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Planning Office at 2 Fairgrounds Road.

SEAL APPEAL Many of the seals you may have seen drifting by the island’s shore this fall or hauled up on remote beaches such as Smith’s and Great points, and Tom Nevers Head are going to become parents from the end of December through the first week of February. This mass birthing of gray seal pups occurs on Muskeget Island, the southernmost outpost of their East Coast range, used by 1,500 to 3,000 gray seals for whelping, mating and as a general refuge from human maritime activity.

During the winter of 2005/2006, gray seals on Muskeget gave birth to approximately 2,000 pups. Considered a non-migratory species, gray seals seek out isolated, uninhabited shorelines on which to mate and give birth. Their range extends north from Muskeget Island over to Monomoy Island and further north to Sable Island, Newfoundland, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Prince Edward Island. Their worldwide population is around 200,000.

You may have flown over Muskeget during the winter months and easily seen the large dark mass of seals on this tiny island. But there is nothing like getting up close and seeing the birthing and daily lives of these gray seals.

You can be there to see this wondrous natural sight just offshore in a boat if you sign up for one of several trips to Muskeget sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association and Shearwater Excursions, Dec. 26-30 from 1-3:30 p.m.

Along for the ride will be Dr. Bob Kennedy, Maria Mitchell’s Director of Natural Science, offering his knowledge of the gray seal lifecycle and a commentary on bird life and the natural history of the area.

Call the Maria Mitchell Association at 228- 9198 for details and Shearwater Excursions at 228- 7037 to sign up for one these trips to Muskeget.

CAPE WIND PROPOSAL ANGERS CHELSEA RESIDENTS Residents of Chelsea were outraged yesterday to hear that the parent company of Cape Wind had filed a proposal with the state’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to build a dieselburning power plant less than 200 feet from the playground of the Burke Elementary School complex in Chelsea where more than 1,700 children are enrolled.

In September, the Chelsea City Council passed a resolution against the power plant at a meeting which over 100 people attended showing their disapproval with the pending proposal. The resolution stated that the Council would not give the company any tax breaks if they went forward with their proposal.

Considered one of the state’s most environmentally overburdened cities, Chelsea residents have suffered the effects of its industrial waterfront. According to the most recent data, the City of Chelsea leads the state in rates of hospitalization from strokes and major cardiovascular disease. Many are worried how the added diesel contamination will affect the public health of the community.

“I don’t understand how the folks at Cape Wind can talk about being visionary with their proposals for renewable energy in affluent communities and at the same time propose to bring a dinosaur diesel power plant here to Chelsea, one of the state’s poorest and most diverse cities,” said T.J. Hellmann of Chelsea Green Space.

According to 1999 EPA data, modeled levels of diesel particulate matter in Chelsea are already five times the US mean and 20% higher than the EPA's reference concentration. One census tract nearest the proposed plant has twice the concentration of emissions than are considered to be safe by the EPA.

“What blows my mind is that Cape Wind says that by putting a diesel power plant next to my son’s elementary school, he’s going to be breathing cleaner air,” said Gladys Vega, Executive Director of the Chelsea Collaborative. “It doesn’t take a scientist to tell me that this will jeopardize my son’s health.”

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