Jennifer Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Park, updates Broad Channel residents and nature enthusiasts on the National Park Service’s plans to remediate the West Pond. She was told by many the loop and freshwater should come back.
Posted: Thursday, January 29, 2015 10:30 am | Updated: 11:43 am, Thu Jan 29, 2015.
Speaking at an open house meeting regarding the restoration of the West Pond, Broad Channel residents and nature enthusiasts last Thursday overwhelmingly agreed that the loop at the pond needed to be secured and the body of water should be brought back to its freshwater status.
“We’d like to see a complete circle on that pond,” one person said. “I think that’s the most important thing.”
The West Pond at Gateway National Park was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy, causing part of its loop trail to be washed away and creating a breach, which allowed saltwater from Jamaica Bay to flow into the body of freshwater.
Jennifer Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Park, said the National Park Service is looking at a few options to either close the breach, or leave it as is.
The options for restoring the pond included closing the loop and bringing freshwater back to the area, restoring the loop with some amenities including bird blinds or bridging the breach and allowing saltwater to still rush into the pond.
Any proposal that does not fully close the loop would result in the creation of brackish water, a combination of fresh and saline water.
Dan Mundy Jr., president of the Broad Channel Civic Association, told Nersesian that freshwater was the No. 1 priority.
“That brackish approach doesn’t appeal to me as much,” he said.
Mundy also suggested including a drainage pipe in whatever plan is implemented by the Park Service, the federal agency that oversees the parkland, to increase the pond’s resiliency. Nersesian said the agency is open to that idea.
Seth Ausubel, a member of the board of directors at the state Ornithological Association, advocated for ridding the area of saltwater.
The West Pond and other areas of Gateway National Park are popular gathering spots for birdwatchers.
“I think it’s very important to bring freshwater back to the area,” he said. “I would not like to see it revert to saltwater at all.”
Some people said they were less concerned with how the Park Service repairs the loop and brings freshwater back to the pond, and were more concerned about it being completed as soon as possible.
“We’re already talking about four years after Sandy before we see anything done,” one person said. “I’d really urge to keep moving forward as quickly as possible”
Another audience member said the slow process to having the pond fixed is “frustrating.”
“We’re over analyzing this,” the person said.
Nersesian said the agency is required to look at all available options to them before fixing the pond, and that a final plan would be presented to the public by late spring or early summer of this year.
She also said the agency is required to show that whatever plan it picks for the West Pond, it must increase its resiliency.
“We can’t put any dollars into it if it doesn’t show that,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment