The Lighthouse Keeper
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

SHIFTING SANDS

Hawkeye was waiting for me when I got home tonight, which was a good thing, because I was having a hard time coming up with something to write about. It has been hard to get back into the swing of Nantucket things coming off a great trip. I was looking for inspiration

"Hey, Hawkeye. What's new?" I greeted him.

The red tail fixed his eye on me. "Haven't you heard? The world stopped while you were away. Not that it was your doing," he hastened to add. "First there was the decompression from Town Meeting; then there was school vacation. Then it was Daffodil Weekend and the weather wasn't any better than it ever is."

"Well," I said, "at least the streets on Brant Point got paved while I was away. After what seemed like months of dust and mud, exhaust fumes and noise, we finally have our roads back. It was a nightmare. We were hardly ever told what was happening. Getting to work was a challenge almost every day. They must have dug up the corner in front of the office ten times, at least."

"Did you notice how they dug again right away after the asphalt was laid?" Hawkeye asked. "I can't believe that, it is so wasteful."

"Well, who knows if they are done, but I guess they can dig all they want. This is only the first coat of asphalt and that's the way it will be until the fall, when the finish coat will be applied. Apparently, time has run out and they have to stop for the summer."

After a moment of thought, Hawkeye said, "I think the big news from while you were away is the beach erosion. Have you seen what's happened to the beaches? I haven't gotten out to 'Sconset because I don't usually fly that far, but from what I hear it really got hit badly. Madaket certainly has lost a lot of dune."

"Yes," I said, "I went and checked out Madaket after my usual Sunday trip to the dump. It is pretty amazing how much has gone. Even last year, you could stand at the end of the Madaket Road and look west along the beach and see some pretty high dunes. Now they have pretty much all disappeared. The good news, though, is that there is now a nice wide beach in Madaket. For the last couple of years, the beach has been so narrow, that there almost had to be a lottery to allot space on the sand to beachgoers. "

"I hear there is talk about trying to do some beach restoration out along the bluff in 'Sconset," Hawkeye said. "What do you think of that?"

"That's a tough question. I haven't done a lot of studying of the issue but, in principle, I think I am in favor of the proposal to restore the beach as a buffer to protect the bluff and the houses on it. On the face of it, it's a very logical thing to do. I can be persuaded that the project shouldn't be done, but I come into the discussion with a predisposition towards it."

"I understand," Hawkeye said, but what about the collateral issues? What about the effect of littoral drift on the beaches to the north and south? What about the effect on the Bass Shoal from which they are going to take the sand?"

"Those are the important questions," I agreed. "I know the ocean is very unpredictable, but I also know that the scientists have gotten pretty good at gauging the effect of coastline changes on neighboring beaches. They should be able to address this issue.

"The impact on Bass Shoal is the bigger question. It is a good fishing ground, but the issue, to me is whether this project will really ruin it, as many are saying, or whether it will be able to recover. Again, I think the scientists should be able to come up with some pretty good answers."

Hawkeye interrupted, "It isn't simple, is it?

"No it isn't simple," I went on, "and, unfortunately, as with many projects of this nature, an emotional element has been injected into it which obscures the more important questions. The relatively recent notion that fishermen should be compensated for their lost catches and lost revenues from charters has raised the level of shrillness considerably. Personally, I find that concept hard to grasp. There are other places to fish. How do you determine whether there really are lost revenues and how do you quantify them? Who qualifies for compensation? Is it just local guys? Is it people who fish on the shoal 'regularly,' regardless of where they are from? For how long are

they compensated? And, so on. It's a morass. Circumstances change."

"I agree," Hawkeye said. "Unfortunately, that sort of discussion deflects both energy and attention away from the more important questions, as well as using up a whole lot of time. A couple more big storms anytime soon may render the question moot."

"Yes, given the situation, a sign we saw in Cornwall is well suited for that

part of the island," I said.

I continued, "Well, I'll wait and see the studies before finally making up my mind. As I have said before, however, I find it hard to believe that there would be the same hue and cry if the proposal was to restore the beach so that vehicle access to Smith's Point could be restored."

"Hey, dummy," Hawkeye retorted. "Don't you know that Smith's Point as we know it is now an island again? That's a specious argument and you know it."

"Is it?" I said. Certainly a month ago it wasn't specious. And even now, it would only take a small bit of sand to fill in the new cut."

"You are nuts!" Hawkeye said emphatically and flew off.

Inspiration in mind, I went in the house.

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The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any ideas or comments to drake@nantucketindependent. com.