Field Notes
TRUSTEES CLOSE GREAT POINT FOR PIPING PLOVERS At 11:45 a.m. last Friday, Trustees of Reservations Property Manager Steve Nicolle closed Great Point to all vehicle traffic from the southern end of the Galls at Marker #3 up because a nest of three piping plover eggs hatched.

Nicolle said that the nest was actually down the outside of Coatue near the Nantucket Conservation Foundation's research shack, but once the chicks hatched, they and their parents migrated up to the Galls, forcing him to close the beach. He added that he is expecting another nest of four eggs, this one right on the Galls, to hatch tomorrow.

If all seven chicks survive it could be 30 days from tomorrow before Nicolle reopens Great Point to vehicles. Beachgoers are encouraged to walk along the water's edge to get out to Great Point.

NOW, THAT'S GREEN Pupils in Tim Psaradelis' high school classes are some of the 125,000 students across the state who joined the Department of Environmental Protection's Green Team by participating in the annual environmental educational experience to reduce pollution and protect the environment.

The students in grades nine through 12 earned the highest level of recognition, "Environmental Eagles," for coordinating their school's recycling program, completing a "Slash Trash" lesson, writing articles related to recycling on Nantucket and participating in beach cleanups.

According to the DEP, student involvement in the Green Team has more than doubled since 2006 with more than 700 classes taking part in the program. Seventy-seven of those classes, Nantucket's included, received grand prizes for their efforts.

DUMP THE PUMPS The folks at the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority (NRTA) will stop at nothing to get you to leave your car, truck or motorcycle at home, and take the bus. Last week it was the week-long Do the Ride Thing campaign, a whole seven days of free rides on NRTA's shuttle buses, but tomorrow NRTA is offering half-off fares on its buses as part of National Dump the Pump Day.

Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association, Dump the Pump, like Do the Ride Thing, is designed to encourage fuel conservation and protection of the environment. Riders on NRTA on June 21 will pay half the regular fares of $1 and $2 all day.

For shuttle information, fares and schedules check out the NRTAWeb site at www.shuttlenantucket.com.

THEY ARE WATCHING YOU At the end of the June 11 Planning Board agenda there was a new section reading: Projects Out of Compliance.

Under this heading were 12 developments previously approved by the Planning Board, including the Pleasant Street post office, Nanahumacke Preserve, Tom's Way Extension Subdivision, Yawkey Way MRD, Westmoor Farms Subdivision, Marlin Estates Subdivision, 4 Dave Street Neighborhood Employee Housing Overlay District (NEHOD)/Mid-Island Planned Overlay District (MIPOD) Special Permit, Carter Mitchell Major Commercial Development, Pine Estates Subdivision, Rosemary Way Subdivision and On-Island Gas MIPOD Special Permit.

As Senior Planner Leslie Woodson explained, each one of these development proposals received conditional approvals from the board, with some conditions requiring the filing of additional legal documents before construction can begin. In an effort to ensure these developers meet the terms of their agreements with the board, the Planning Department combed through its files and found 12 developments that had outstanding filings to be made.

The Planning Board did not take any actions toward the developers, but instead got their attention enough to meet with them at the end of the meeting and get their files in order. Woodson said she would try to do this on a fairly

regular basis as needed. I