Field Notes
by Peter B Brace

HARBOR PLAN MEETING At about an inch thick, the current version of the 2007 Nantucket and Madaket Harbors Action Plan is a hefty tome in hard copy form and a big download online. Understandably, getting comfortable with its contents is taking the town and its harbor-concerned citizens longer than anticipated. We have until Feb. 21 to study this document and tell its authors, the Urban Harbors Institute and the Harbor Plan Review Committee, what's missing in the draft and what should be changed before they file a final version with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management for a lengthy state review.

If you're so inclined, attend the committee's public hearing to tell them what it should be erased or added to the plan. The hearing is on Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Large Group Instruction Room at Nantucket High School at 10 Surfside Road. Copies of the plan are available at www.nantucketharborplan. com/ and at the Nantucket Atheneum. If you desire a copy of the plan on CD, contact the Marine & Coastal Resources Department at 228-7261.

BOARD MEMBER BOOT CAMP Nantucket's conservation organizations are all controlled boards or commissions of individuals directing the activities of their respective groups. These directors typically gain experience by doing, but there is help for those hoping to gain an edge in the open space/habitat conservation game on Nantucket. The Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition and the Trustees of Reservations' Putnam Conservation Institute are sponsoring the 17th Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference at which new board members can learn the basics.

At the conference, a three-hour workshop called "Informational Boot Camp for Land Trust Board Members," is designed to teach budding board members of land conservation organizations the basics of land acquisition and protection. It is one of 32 workshops offered at the conference, which takes place March 24 at the Bancroft School in Worcester, Mass. Register and get more information at www.massland. org or contact Angel Vega avega@ttor.org or 978-

840-4446 on Mondays and Wednesdays. I