Kyle Latshaw Loretta Yoder
113 Baxter Road
This week The Nantucket Independent

continues a series of interviews with

members of the Siasconset Beach

Preservation Fund to get behind the

meeting rhetoric and to learn why they

joined the fight to slow erosion of the Bluff in 'Sconset. Each week through early

September, you will read in their words

their reasons for going forward with the

proposed beach nourishment project and their opinions about the environmental

impacts of the erosion control project.

As always, we welcome your comments and letters to the editor.

Email: don@nantucketindependent.com

Where is your house in relation to the bluff?

"About 25 to 35 feet from the edge"

How long have you been a member of SBPF?

"We are not."

Why have you not joined?

"We are very passionate about many causes but don't have the financial means to support them. We do what we can in other ways, either by vocally supporting them or volunteering."

Loretta Yoder, left, and Kyle Latshaw

Respond to the following statement in whatever way you feel is appropriate: you're wasting your money - Mother Nature is going to take your property no matter what…

"As we have said many times, we believe we are all stewards of the land and should do what we can to protect it. That is doubly true when it comes to historic properties and landmarks, all of which we are fortunate enough to have located here. Add to that The Codfish Park infrastructure and the sewer sanitation areas. Lose any of them and 'Sconset is lost forever.

"We think it is wonderful that some businessmen were willing to fund this effort without involving any public monies. We see no reason to stifle this effort. Due diligence has been taken. This is not a fly-by-night idea.

"Let's look at the recent damage by Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and nearby Gulf Coast areas. Are we to stand here and say, "Those folks should have known better than to build below sea level? They got what they deserve and they have no right to rebuild." And remember all of our tax dollars are helping on that project. And if you are a strict environmentalist who believes you should truly "let nature take its course," then anyone who has a property damaged in a hurricane, tornado, fire, etc. should not be allowed to do anything about it. If your house were struck by lightning and caught on fire, wouldn't you want to try and save it? And wouldn't you try and save other properties and the neighborhood as well?

"Areas around the world have come up with all kinds of ideas to lessen the sea's impact. Some communities have sea walls; the Jersey Shore has stone jetties; Peru has binder weed; Japan has huge boulders and Cancun has dredged sand from miles out.

"Personally, we find the late Henry Coffin's theory interesting. He remembered his grandfather and friends opening the various ponds by hand via horse carts a couple of times a year. For instance, when Sesachacha was opened, the sand would rush out to form part of the shoal off 'Sconset. Likewise from the other ponds.

"When the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) decided that wasn't a good idea, for about 10 years around the 1990s, the bluff became more vulnerable. And, of course that's the time the Perfect Storm hit and destroyed a massive chunk of the bluff. Coffin was pleased when the DEP reconsidered and allowed the ponds to be opened again."

Why isn't moving your house or the houses of those on the ocean side of the bluff to a new lot inland an option?

"We might be able to, provided we could find a lot, but would all of Nantucket want 'Sconset to become a ghost town? We have inherited history; it's our duty to preserve it. Not many areas of our country have such a long heritage."

The Patriot's Day storm this year proved fairly convincingly that terracing of the bluff is no match for wind and waves. Is it prudent to stop using this form of bluff stabilization or keep going with it and why?

"The stabilization is a good concept, but perhaps the design needs some refining, which we understand has been done. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

When the terracing components get washed down the bluff, the waves scatter the timbers and jute fiber matting to beaches north of you and pretty much everywhere around the island. What do you have to say to the people who own those beaches?

"The cleanup was done at the terracing owners' expense. They were showing they truly are good neighbors. And, as many people just realized, the original permit did not allow for anything permanent to be constructed."

Much of the opposition to this beach nourishment project is coming from charter and commercial fisher- men concerned about losing their livelihoods and from wildlife advocates who, along with the fishermen, are worried about how the dredging of sand from the shoal, construction of the new beach and long shore drift of the sand over time is going to impact shorebirds and their food. What do you say to these people?

"When the storms of the early 1990s hit and took a huge chunk of the bluff, how did that affect the catch? And what about the washing away of several houses in Codfish Park? As long as we can remember, the charter boats have been off the coast of the Sankaty Light and further south. As we look out at the 'Sconset Beach and around the "Summer House, this beach is far larger than it used to be. That doesn't seem to have harmed fishing."

If the beach nourishment project works, which parts of the island should it be applied to next?

"The South Shore, which has lost much in the last couple of years, especially the Cisco and Hummock Pond areas.

Is there anything you want to say that I haven't talked about today, anything else on your mind that concerns SBPF and its efforts?

"We applaud the work, research, stamina and financial resources the SBPF has put into this project. These people's success in business has carried over into their private lives. We view them as philanthropic donors rather than selfish individuals. The results could be enormous and far-reaching, not only for the 'Sconset community, but for the rest of the island as well.

"And it seems like a no-brainer to us. If someone has an idea, is willing to pay for it, has done extensive research in a compassionate, rational and educated way, and is willing to cover any potential losses, then why not let them try it? Why should we stand in their way? And what a marvelous solution if this idea works and could be applied to

other areas of the island as well." I