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The Conservation Almanac
20/20 Clarity for Conservation
DRI Checklist Revision
Diving into Island Fisheries
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20/20 Clarity for Conservation
Members and friends of VCS, please join us on Wednesday, Sept. 9th
at 5:30 pm (EST) for our Annual Meeting of the Membership and Board of
Directors. This year’s meeting will feature a short presentation by
Executive Director Brendan O’Neill, reflecting on some of the Island’s
conservation milestones, and looking ahead to the challenges and
opportunities of the future. While voting on the slate of Directors will
be limited to the membership, the meeting is open to the public. We
hope to see you all there!
Zoom meeting link. If you are not familiar with Zoom meetings, please watch this tutorial video and then contact us if you still have questions.
This too shall pass.
Photo by Mya O'Neill, March 2019
Setting Boundaries
Why the MV Commission's DRI Checklist Revision Process Matters
In
addition to its role as our regional planning agency, the Martha’s
Vineyard Commission was granted two unique regulatory powers by the
Commonwealth upon its creation in 1977:
the creation of Districts of Critical Planning Concern (DCPCs), and
review of Developments of Regional Impact. In recent years, DRI review
has been of vital importance in limiting the worst aspects of overly
rapid development.
However, as open space dwindles and the Island approaches build-out, a
peculiar threat to the process arises: an increasing number of proposals
that would in plain language have “regional impacts” are unlikely to
meet the technical criteria of a Development of Regional Impact. In
other words, not updating the standards for DRI review would gradually
lead to its disuse. That is one reason that the MVC is mandated to
update the DRI checklist – the set of criteria, or “triggers,” that
determine if a development qualifies for review – every two years.
VCS enthusiastically endorses the newest revision; please see our testimony is support, as well as the summary from the MVC.
While we were disappointed that one addition for which we had
advocated, a trigger based on overall square footage of single-family
homes, was removed in this latest draft, overall the proposed revision
is a successful effort to strengthen the Commission’s review process.
While it may seem dry and bureaucratic to many, the DRI Checklist is of
utmost importance to the future of our Island. It sets the boundaries
for the regulatory power of the Commission, and likewise the limits for
any developer who wishes to escape it.
 Reimagine and Reduce Your Waste
We
have a winner! The "Reimagine and Reduce" award, a new addition for
this year's virtual Agricultural Fair, goes to Heather Capece and her
daughter Koko for the beautiful quilt they created while quarantined in
April. The result of a partnership between VCS and Island Grown
Initiative, the new fair category asked participants to share an example
of a change made during the Covid-19 pandemic to help their family,
business, or organization reduce waste and/or live more sustainability.
Congrats!
Koko's old shirts and dresses beginning to take shape as the pattern of a future quilt
A Dive into Island Fisheries
For those who missed it, last week’s deep dive by Sam Moore for the MV Times
into the state of our commercial fisheries is highly recommended.
Weaving together historical research, recent papers, and an entertaining
and informative interview with Jesse Ausubel of Rockefeller University,
Sam presents a story that, in our opinion, gets the ratio of despair to
hope just right. (Spoiler alert: it’s not good, but it could be worse.)
The piece concludes with a wonderful visual metaphor, contrasting the
ethos of the farmer and the conquistador:
"Recent ventures — a boom in Island grown oysters, or the promising
return of Squibnocket herring fostered by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay
Head — point toward a Vineyard seafood landscape that is more husbandry than forage, a dynamic stock to be studied and stewarded, rather than a silvery hoard there for the taking. The challenge is convincing all the neighbors to cooperate on one large, backyard garden."
Solace & Insight
The Art of Conservation 2020
"The
oyster gathering community has suffered in the midst of the pandemic as
they have not been able to sell their fresh products to local markets
or restaurants as many of them have closed or may not be opening for the
summer season. Photographed is a man who is oyster fishing in a pond at
the end of Pulpit Rock in Oak Bluffs. I was not expecting to find him
when I arrived to take some photos, but it made me think of the
oyster/fishing community and I realized that they too need some
recognition. Speaking to this man opened my eyes to another aspect of
our island community and made me appreciate all that Martha’s Vineyard
has to offer."
Olivia Schroeder, describing "Making Ends Meet," her Special Distinction winning entry for this year's Art of Conservation
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