From Snails to Whales: Lovells Island

Monday, August 3, 2009

Lovells Island

Everday is a new adventure. After a hectic early morning escapade, it was nice to relax a little bit on the way to the island. It the day was a little gloomy from overcast, but was still relatively warm (probably about 75 degrees) with some light winds throughout the day. Once we arrived on the island I could see a rock filled beach with little sand, which we learned was called a cobble stone beach. This is one of the four types of beaches in the New England region, the others being: rocky, sandy, and mud-flats. From here we walked across to the other side of the island, where we could noticeably see the, I think its called, "wrackline" which consists of all kinds of debris and sea weed. We could also see the line that separated the dry part of the beach from the wet part showing the tide was regressing to low tide. The average of high tide in this area is around 9 feet but can reach up to 12 feet in the summer. It was here that we got to learn about the "Brazil Nut Phenomena" which states that bigger solids come to the top. A variety of things can affect these rocks(both its position and its form) such as: currents, human activity, tides, and storms. On the beach we could see it was littered with blue mussel shells and, as we looked closer in the wet area, could see it was full of periwinkles which were our main focus for the day. We all picked them up and observed them. We tried just about anything to get them out of there shells from rocking them to singing them lullabies. These periwinkles were diverse in that some had strips and some didn't and they varied in color. These animals are harmless to humans, however they are enemy to anyone who likes sandy beaches, because they help turn them into rocky beaches. As we got to look at these snails close up we could see that some of them had little holes in their shells. I think that there could be more than one predator resposnible for this: the Dog Whelk, Oyster Drill, and the, I think, dog snail along with other various kinds of rock whelks. All of which use their teeth like tongues to penetrate the periwinkles very strong shells in order to eat and I think any of these animals could be responsible.

We then walked for a few minutes down the shore to eat lunch. Mr. Berman found some interesting snail shells that were not periwinkles. I think they might be known as a brown-lined snail or something like that. I learned that these shells(the dead ones we found) could be determined older or younger than others. The shell of the older one would be more eroded from weather, scowered, and more faded than the younger ones. Later, we saw similar snails on our hike through a trail. The snail that I found was high on a branch behind on a sumac, I think they are called. I also noticed that one of the teams around me were finding their snails in branches as well. So, clearly they are mor comfortable in a tree than on the ground. This led to the question, how did they end up on beach? It was suspected by some students and hinted stongly by Mr. Berman that they could have ended up there because of the birds. I can totally see that because maybe, just like some of the gulls by the tide pool pick up crabs and drop them and then eat them, maybe they do something similar to the snails. Prior to this part of the trip we took a walk through a marsh, which no longer stays wet consistently due to government interference. We got to see a plant called pepper weed that had a distinguished smell to it. Once through the marsh we came to the tide pool. It was the not best smelling part of the island, but it was filled with all kinds of wildlife. There were several bird in the nearby distance like gulls, sand pipers and oyster catchers. The shallow part of the pool was filled with periwinkles, hermit crabs, green crabs ( main predators of the periwinkles), and some very small shrimp that I am unable to identify. I know the rangers told what they were but I forgot. I assume that many of these animals are not native but maybe hitched a ride by boat, storm, or maybe oven another animal it was latched onto. It was cool to see, when up close, how many of these animals lived so close to each other in this part of the pool. I was not one of the more adventurous who went out to the deeper end of the pool, but thanks to several students, was able to see a lobster from a distance, which was cool.

We concluded the trip by taking the shells and separating them into groups, some larger than others. This must be due to "Natural Selection" that Mr. Berman talked about earlier in class. Maybe the smaller groups were better suited for the island than the other larger ones(because less perished). Or maybe looking at the other way around, there are less snails(the smaller groups) so there must not be very many of them. The main difference I saw between the Barking Crab trip and this one was that there was much more life in this area. Probably due to the fact that we were in a much more wild-like habitat and there was much more growth in both on land and in the water.

-Ryan Santana

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From Snails to Whales

Welcome to Snails to Whales, Bruce Berman's blog focused on both the little and the big things that make Boston Harbor such an interesting and extraordinary place to live, work and play.

With 50 miles of protected water, four sheltered bays, seven river systems, 34 islands and a nine-foot average tide, Boston Harbor is one of the most diverse urban ecosystems in America.

This blog focuses on the flora and fauna of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay - on the beach, the shore, and the harbor islands, and in the cleaner waters of Boston Harbor and Mass Bay - including this ecosystems most important species - people.

During the summer, it is also a place for my Boston University Students and my colleagues at Save the Harbor / Save the Bay to share their work and experiences.

Where I am coming from...

Love that clean(er) water
Learning about the Boston Harbor Cleanup from the waterway’s eyes, ears, and mouthpiece

By Brian Fitzgerald, BU Bridge

On Georges Island, Bruce Berman talks with his students about the history of the Boston Harbor Cleanup,
which is largely complete. Photo by Vernon Doucette

Bruce Berman, aboard a ferry from Boston’s Long Wharf to Georges Island, poses a question to his students: “How clean is clean enough?”

He’s talking about the water below.

It’s a brilliant July day, with the smell of salt spray in the air. The sky is clear, and so is the ocean. But there was a time when Boston Harbor wasn’t so clean, when the stench of sewage assaulted the nostrils of anyone who went near it.

Berman is the communications director for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, a public-interest environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to help restore and protect the harbor and Massachusetts Bay. He also teaches a Metropolitan College summer course called Politics, Public Relations, and Public Policy: The Boston Harbor Cleanup.

“The Boston Harbor Cleanup is an amazing success story, and I just love to share it with students,” says Berman, noting that the harbor’s “bad old days” weren’t that long ago. Those were the days when untreated human waste, syringes, condoms, and tampon applicators routinely washed ashore. The antiquated sewage treatment plants on Deer Island and Nut Island were so poorly designed and maintained that they flooded during even mild rainstorms, sending millions of gallons of untreated waste directly into the harbor.

Since then, bacteria counts in the water have decreased by more than two-thirds. Now the harbor teems with plants and animals, and people can legally dig for clams on Carson Beach in South Boston, which was unheard of in the 1980s.

“It was one of the filthiest harbors in America, and now it’s one of the cleanest,” says Berman. “What I’m trying to impress upon students is how this incredible comeback occurred, and how business, advocacy groups, environmentalists, and government can affect the outcome of large projects such as the Boston Harbor Cleanup through negotiation.”

Paradise regained

Berman points to the left as the boat cruises by the cleanup’s centerpiece: the gargantuan white egglike tanks of the Deer Island waste treatment plant, which in 1995 replaced the antiquated facility. The plant treats an average of 350 million gallons of sewage a day.

“And what comes out of the Deer Island treatment plant?” he asks. Berman, his booming baritone competing with the roar of planes taking off from Logan Airport, has a habit of putting students on the spot to see if they’re paying attention.

“The outfall pipe,” say several simultaneously. “Treated water,” chime in a few more.

“That’s right,” he says with a smile. “The plant separates the solid and liquid waste, and it pumps the treated water through the 9.5-mile outfall pipe, which empties into Massachusetts Bay. The resulting sludge is converted to high-grade fertilizer.”

Now Berman returns to his original question: “How clean is clean enough?” There’s no quick and clear answer to this one. “It’s a question that at the end of the day the federal courts had to decide.”

In 1985, a landmark federal court case required that the harbor’s beaches be made swimmable and fishable by 2000. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay was formed the next year to raise public awareness of the $4.5 billion Boston Harbor Cleanup. Sewer ratepayers in the 43 cities and towns financing the project cried foul over the prospect of astronomically rising bills, but because of the determination of environmental advocacy groups such as Berman’s, the cleanup was largely completed on schedule.

Berman says it isn’t finished, however. There are still frequent beach closures because the counts of Enterococcus bacteria exceed the federal and state standard for swimming. The culprit: filthy storm water and sewage, much of it from leaky pipes and illegal hookups emptying into storm sewers, and then into the harbor.

“So is the harbor clean enough,” the Springfield native asks his students, “when you can’t swim in it one out of five days in the summer?”

Work to be done

Berman and his class look out from Georges Island to Gallops Island (left) and the white tanks of the waste treatment plant on Deer Island (right). Photo by Vernon Doucette

This summer the state approved one of the last parts of the cleanup: the construction, by 2011, of a 2.1-mile tunnel near the Dorchester and South Boston shorelines that will hold sewage and storm water during bad weather. It then will be pumped to Deer Island for treatment.

Berman is ecstatic over this development, the result of “tireless negotiation and consensus-building,” he says. “After 2011, we’re looking at beach closings once every five years, when there is a major storm, instead of once every five days.”

But he is not about to let his guard down. To say that he is a man obsessed with the harbor cleanup would be an understatement. Berman is also Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s “Baywatcher,” and he lives on his 40-foot trawler Verandah. Polluters beware: if you’re discharging oil or sewage into Boston Harbor, the Baywatcher just might be watching.

He is quick to point out that his zealotry is not just on behalf of the harbor’s flora and fauna. “The harbor is for everyone,” he says. “If you’re from a working class or poor family in Boston, and you can’t afford a Cape Cod getaway in the summer, a clean harbor is important. The same is true if you’re a tourist vacationing in Boston or you happen to live in a pricey waterfront condo.”

Accordingly, Berman, who was a political consultant and contributing editor to the Phoenix newspaper before joining Save the Harbor/Save the Bay nearly 10 years ago, also teaches his students about the harbor’s role in the city’s economy. He points out that in the early 1990s, just a few ferries cruised the harbor’s waters. Today, more than 100,000 people visit its islands each summer, discovering their ecological and historic treasures.

“The best way to protect the harbor cleanup,” Berman tells his students, “is to make sure that the public has access to the resources and can see a return on its investment.”

Trevor Kosmolsick (MET’05) has lived in Boston for seven years, but until taking Berman’s course, he had never been to the waterfront. “I’ve also wanted to go camping in the area, but I never knew that you could camp on a few of the islands,” he says. “Bruce Berman is not only a great professor, but the ultimate tour guide.”

He also backs up his words with actions. Sometimes he takes off his shirt and dives in the water to demonstrate to passing boaters that it’s safe to swim. To show people on ferries that fishing is safe, he’s been known to grab one of the bluefish or striped bass he’s caught and (very carefully) plant a wet kiss on it.

“What I want everyone to understand is that investment in the environment really does pay off,” says Berman. “We’re willing to pay for a clean Boston Harbor, so we should enjoy it.”

From Snails to Whales

Monday, August 3, 2009

Lovells Island

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