I am very excited about our new GALA Fundraiser for the Land Acquisition Fund initiative since it combines aspects of two very important goals of the Herring Ponds Watershed Association (HPWA) – water quality and community building.

The fundraiser will be held on September 27 at Camp Bournedale and all monies will be designated for the purchase of land in our watershed. The Land Acquisition Fund already has $4000, and our goal is to raise more so that we will be ready to partner with the Town of Plymouth to purchase desirable properties within our watershed that will be designated for conservation by Plymouth as they become available. HPWA has already partnered with Plymouth to purchase 2 properties, Comassakumkanut on Valley Road and the Alper Tract on Little Herring Pond. There are many reasons to raise money for land acquisition.

First, Plymouth land is expensive and beyond HPWA’s means but Plymouth has been willing to add necessary cash to conserve large tracts of land and prevent development. HPWA is fortunate to be able to leverage a relatively small contribution to enable purchase of conservation land by Plymouth.

Second, conservation land in our watershed promotes better water quality in our ponds. How does this happen? We know from our Water Quality Plan that the main source of the phosphorus pollutant that causes the sometimes-toxic cyanobacteria blooms is septic tanks that release phosphorus to the groundwater where it eventually finds its way into our ponds. More conservation means fewer homes, fewer homes mean less phosphorus, and less phosphorus leads to fewer, less severe cyanobacteria blooms.

Third, the Gala is an excellent way to get watershed residents together to build community.

HPWA is about to launch our membership drive. Please consider joining HPWA or upping your membership level. We are an all-volunteer organization, and your membership contribution goes 100% to water analysis, community-wide functions, program speakers, educational material printing and mailing, and supplies.

The Water Quality Committee (WQC) is poised to begin water sampling for general quality, summer E. coli, and the monthly progression of cyanobacteria. We also monitor phosphorus from the Little Herring Pond bog to Great Herring Pond. This information is important to understanding the factors that influence summer blooms. The WQC also diligently spent the winter evaluating ways to remove phosphorus pollutants from our waterways.

Please follow our newsletters or consult our website for more information about upcoming community events. They include Plymouth cleanup day on May 2 where we will cleanup our watershed, a presentation by Audubon’s Mark Faherty on Landscaping for Wildlife on May 18 at 5:30 at Wildlands Trust, free summer boat tours of Great Herring Pond in June, July and August, the 4^th of July boat parade, and the free August picnic on August 8th.

The herring are running – all is well!

Thank you all so much for your generous support of our efforts to preserve our watershed for future generations.

Don Williams
President, HPWA