Refuge To Remove Dead Trees; Dozens Off Morris Island Endanger Navigation

CHATHAM – Over the summer, crews hired by the town removed at least 60 dead trees from the navigation channel between Morris Island and Monomoy. Dozens more trees ripped from the shore by erosion continue to litter the large tidal flats just east of Crescent Beach, just offshore from property owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 Next week, crews from the federal agency will attempt to clear out as many of the trees as possible, bringing in heavy equipment to haul, cut up and chip the sand-and-waterlogged stumps. 

 “Anything that’s been uprooted and dead we’re hoping to remove,” said Grace Bottitta-Williamson, project leader of the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.

 Crews recently widened the refuge right-of-way off Tisquantum Road to its full width of about 30 feet to allow access by skid steers, chippers and other equipment. Depending on conditions and the ability to chainsaw or chip apart the dead trees, the material hauled off the flats will be trucked out with the assistance of the town’s department of public works. Many of the details won’t be certain until crews get on site and can assess the situation, Bottitta-Williamson said.

 The work is scheduled to get underway next Monday, Sept. 16, and continue for most of the week. Town and Fish and Wildlife officials were scheduled to brief homeowners in the area on the plans today (Thursday, Sept. 12). The refuge hiking trails will be closed to the public while the work is ongoing.

 Significant erosion in front of four homes along Tilipi Run caused the failure of the revetment at 97 Tilipi Run last year, sending dozens of trees into the water. The Monomoy Refuge property just west of the revetment is also under attack by erosion, with high tides killing many trees and the swift current dragging them onto the flats and into the channel.

 The erosion caused the high-profile loss of all of the buildings at the refuge headquarters to the east of the revetment, but the losses to the refuge property to the west — which hosts salt marsh, hiking trails and many threatened and endangered species — while less visible to the public are no less significant, said Bottitta-Williamson. The refuge has lost a total of six acres on Morris Island, reducing its land from 40 to 34 acres.

 And while most of the refuge’s migratory bird nesting happens on the offshore North and South Monomoy Islands, two pairs of federally endangered piping plovers nested in the eroded area this summer, producing four chicks, she said. It’s also become more heavily used by the public since beach access at the headquarters property was lost.

 Funds remaining from the demolition of the visitors center and office building in April will be used to cover the cost of the tree work, Bottitta-Williamson said. 

 “It’s all about navigation safety,” she said, and although that’s not generally within the Fish and Wildlife Service’s mission, the agency is working with the town in a good faith effort to address the problem.

 Harbormaster Jason Holm said there were one or two reports this summer of boaters striking objects in the area, “but nothing major.” The town contracted with several local boaters and fishermen to remove the trees posing the most immediate danger. He estimated they removed at least 60 trees. 

“They did a good job keeping the channel clear,” he said. The initial work was funded by the town, but the owner of 97 Tilipi Run pledged $10,000 to support the effort, according to NT

The town will continue to work with the agency on a long-term solution, he said. A long-term plan to install temporary fans just offshore in that area as a way to lessen shoaling in the Morris Island channel and the nearby Stage Harbor entrance channel is still in the permitting stages.

 Meanwhile, work on rebuilding the revetment at 97 Tilipi Run is scheduled to begin soon after being on hiatus for the summer. Last week the conservation commission approved a final permit for the project, which will include the use of a barge offshore to help place huge boulders to hold the revetment in place.