Squibnocket Pond News Today

We sat in our kayaks and looked across the pond. A storybook of large dunes, some streaked with swaths of white and others draped in a country green, sat on the far shore. The morning was gray with a cover of puffy clouds. A light breeze blew on our noses with a nearly flat sea. […]

To the Editor: Chis Baer, in his article “This Was Then: Mephitis mephitis mentions,” writes that the skunk was present on the Vineyard at an archaeological site on Squibnocket Pond 500 years ago, and before.  There have been extensive faunal studies at sites on the Vineyard, that include Ritchie Roy’s 1969 book, “The Archaeology of […]

If you’re fond of odd-looking birds, you’re in luck! Late fall is prime time for viewing American coots on Martha’s Vineyard. A member of the same taxonomic family as rails, the coot is one of those birds that seems cobbled together out of spare parts. Uniform gray in plumage, with oversize feet, a white bill, […]

Scientists and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal officials think a small population of striped bass could be defying their migratory nature. And that, in turn, could be impeding efforts to restore a second fish species: herring.

Researchers and local authorities last week fitted 20 striped bass from Squibnocket Pond in Chilmark with acoustic tags, in an attempt to confirm if there is a year-round population of the typically migratory fish.  A determination might be available in a matter of weeks, and could confirm the only documented nonmigratory population in Massachusetts.  The […]

At Suffolk County, a blue-winged warbler at Millennium Park in West Roxbury, and a willet at the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation.

Chilmark’s select board learned Tuesday night that a local resident has offered to pay to replenish “renourish” sand at Squibnocket Beach through a project that would be run by the Woods Hole Group. Tara Marden, a senior project manager and coastal geologist at the Woods Hole Group, pitched the idea to the board.  “I was […]

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission unanimously voted to continue the discussion about implementing prescribed burns on its properties during a Monday afternoon meeting.  Land Bank biologist Julie Russell and land superintendent Harrison Kisiel reported to the commissioners about the wildfire mitigation planning they heard from the Dukes County Fire Council. According to Russell, Martha’s […]

The Great Pond Foundation in Edgartown and its partners have been collecting data about harmful algae blooms, of which cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) was a large concern on Martha’s Vineyard in 2021, and is expected to continue so in the future. These groups now plan to expand their work during 2022, and the […]

Our first full year dealing with a pandemic is coming to a close. While 2020 was partially affected by COVID-19 beginning in March, this year we’ve lived with the effects of the virus throughout. We’ve found a way to get kids back into classrooms, and gotten a large percentage of the population to understand the […]