Letter to Recreation Dept and Response re Mansion Beach_Oct21

TOWN OF WAYLAND Recreation Department 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, Massachusetts 01778 www.wayland.ma.us (508) 358-3660

Mr. Thomas Klem, Chair Surface Water Quality Committee Town of Wayland tlem@wayland.ma.us Re: Geese at Dudley Pond

Friday, October 15, 2021

Chairmen Klem, Thank you for your letter. Upon receipt of your letter, I discussed this matter with a variety of Town of Wayland personnel, including the Assistant Town Administrator, Health Director, Public Works Director and Superintendent, Assessor, GIS Coordinator, Beach Director and the Conservation Administrator, all of whom have discussed the matter prior to today and will continue to assess the needs in the area at the end of Mansion Road. If you would like to discuss the matter directly with the Recreation Commission, its next public meeting is slated for Monday, October 25, 2021.

THE PROBLEM: GEESE CONTROL 1.

2.

The Surface Water Quality Committee reports there is a problem with droppings and excrement from Canada Geese on the Mansion Road shoreline, which is used mainly by neighbors to access Dudley Pond for boating, fishing, skating and other allowable recreational aquatic activities.

Weekly labs tests of water samples occasionally show elevated levels of E. coli / Enterococci, which may be attributed to the geese droppings and are generally unpleasant for the users of area.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS 1.

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The Recreation Department has found some success with goose control tactics that are both persistent and varied to keep geese from becoming pests at Town athletic fields and along the shoreline of Lake Cochituate where it operates a bathing beach under 105 CMR 445.

These tactics are funded by the users of the respective athletic fields and the patrons of Wayland Town Beach.

Geese Control Tactics employed by the Recreation Department in recent years: a) Establishing “Do Not Feed the Geese” policies and posted signage. b) Scare Tactic 1: Hanging flag lines and banners. This works well until geese learn there is no real threat. c) Scare Tactic 2: Full bodied swan or coyote decoys. This works for short period of time, but require a person to relocate the decoys periodically. d) Scare Tactic 3: Seasonal Staff who are on site approach the geese and clap loudly or flap towels as well as sweep droppings away from recreational spaces. e) Scare Tactic 4: We’ve hired trained border collies to herd but not touch the geese as an especially effective and humane approach. This mostly displaces the geese to another site.

Other Geese Control Tactics could include: f) BARRIERS like chicken wire or fencing especially during the molting period (summer) when the birds are flightless.

g) EGG ADDLING: Land owners can apply for a special permit from MassWildlife to addle eggs or destroy nests of geese on property they own or control. Several Massachusetts towns currently use such permits to reduce the number of geese that hatch on town properties. h) HUNTING: Canada geese are important and valuable birds in Massachusetts for which a regulated hunting season and management program have been established. i) PET WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES: Communities can contract with third-party vendors who remove and dispose of animal waste.

LOCUS 1.

2.

3.

There is approximately 80’ feet of public shoreline on Mansion Road. GIS: Map Parcel #94-001 which includes the intersection of Mansion Road/Lakeshore Drive.

Dudley Pond is an 84 acre “Great Pond” leased from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Town of Wayland, through a ninety-nine year long-term lease in 1916, expiring in 2015. It is not known whether the lease has been renewed.

The owner of the property listed in the Town Assessors Database/GIS is the Town of Wayland rightof-way. Recreation has several parcels nearby, but not #94-001.

CONCLUSIONS 1.

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Stakeholders should determine a funding source for the remainder of FY 2022 and beyond to support any combination of the Geese Control Methods outlined above.

Currently there are not any funding sources in the Recreation Department budget to support new expenditures at the Mansion Road site for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022.

Any abutters with pond level septic systems and/or cess pools, if any, should ensure its systems are in compliance with applicable laws.

Water Quality tests mandated by MDPH 105 CMR 445.00: State Sanitary Code Chapter VII: Minimum Standards for Bathing Beaches are not currently applicable at this site because no entity holds a Permit to Operate a Bathing Beach through an application to the local Health Department.

RECREATION DEPARTMENT 1.

The Recreation Department holds a Permit to Operate a Bathing Beach for the nearby 500’ foot of waterfront at Wayland Town Beach on Lake Cochituate. When compared to this Town Beach waterfront, the Recreation Department historically has opted not to apply for a license to operate a bathing beach at the Mansion Road site due to the following factors: a. b. c. d. e. f.

2.

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lack of ADA accessibility lack of suitable parking for visitors poor bacteriological quality of water a small waterfront/shoreline difficulty to staff and lifeguard lack of resources and funds

The Recreation Department renews its recommendation that the area be used only for recreational activities from onboard a watercraft and/or from the shoreline and not be used for swimming. The Recreation Department will review this recommendation annually.

There is a posted “No Swimming” sign at Mansion Road/Lakeshore Drive.

The Recreation Department will review its FY 2023 (and future) General Fund operating budget requests, which appropriates funds to operate and maintain areas for which there is no revenue, such as playgrounds, trails and parks. The budget proposal would assess the need to include funding of any number of these tactics, seasonally.

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5.

To give an order of magnitude, user fees currently support approximately $8,000 of expenditures for a variety of goose control measures at athletic fields and the Town Beach, over a twenty week period.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (DPW) 1.

2.

DPW services a small trash receptacle at the Mansion Road site periodically.

DPW conducts a seasonal clean-up of the area and performs some general maintenance as needed, i.e. downed trees, kiosks.

CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT 1.

The Conservation Department, if applicable, would permit and condition activities under the dictates of 310 CMR 10: Wetlands Protection Act Regulations, Chapter 193 Stormwater Management and Land Disturbance Bylaw and/or Wetlands and Water Resources Bylaw Chapter 194 as the problem area is within a 100’ buffer zone/wetland area.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT 1.

2.

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The Health Department receives a water sample collected by a resident and abutter, once per week for about 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year.

The Health Department then coordinates and funds a lab test for bacteria (E. coli / Enterococci) of that water sample, as it would pursuant to the dictates of 105 CMR 445 for bathing beaches.

Approximately eight times over the last five years, the bacteria levels have exceeded the maximum 235 CFU/100ml or geometric mean of 5 recent samples >126 CFU/100ml.

The Health Department then provides said resident and abutter with additional “No Swimming” and/or warning signs to post when it is not safe for swimming as it would pursuant to the dictates of 105 CMR 445 for bathing beaches.

DUDLEY POND ASSOCIATION (DPA) 1.

2.

The Dudley Pond Association (DPA) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit membership organization dedicated to the preservation of the Pond.

Its website states that the DPA is a “Watershed group with bylaws specifically for the maintenance of Dudley Pond. Since its first meeting in 1968 the DPA has had a program of pond improvement that has included: Weed control, Litter control, Safety, Abuse and "nuisance" control, Improvement of water quality and community-building events.”

SURFACE WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE (SWQC) 1.

2.

The Surface Water Quality Committee, established in 1979, was charged to oversee the environmental health of Dudley Pond, Heard Pond, North Pond, Mill Pond, the Sudbury River, and any other impaired water body, and take action as appropriate to maintain water quality, to contain invasive weed growth, and to seek and manage appropriate grants to improve the ponds. The SWQC shall subscribe to the state mandated Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.

At the 2021 ATM voters approved funds for the expenses of the Surface Water Quality Committee to be spent under the direction of the Board of Selectmen, totaling $51,000.

AUTHORITY: 1.

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Canada Geese are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA). The Act codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703–712, is a United States federal law. The MBTA prohibits without waiver the take (including killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport) of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Dudley Pond is defined as “Great Pond” by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Page 3 of 6

3.

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a) A Great Pond is defined as any pond or lake that contained more than 10 acres in its natural state. Ponds that once measured 10 or more acres in their natural state, but which are now smaller, are still considered great ponds. b) Any project located in, on, over or under the water of a Great Pond is within the jurisdiction of MGL Chapter 91 Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act. Town Code: Division 1: Bylaws; Part II: General Legislation; Chapter 109 Dudley Pond MDPH 105 CMR 445.00: State Sanitary Code Chapter VII: Minimum Standards for Bathing Beaches is not currently applicable at this site because no entity holds a license to operate a bathing beach by application to the local Health Department.

All other applicable federal and state laws apply, but not limited to those under the: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Massachusetts Environmental Police

Respectfully, Katherine Brenna Recreation Director TOWN OF WAYLAND 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, MA 01778 Cc: J. Bugbee, Assistant Town Administrator; T. Holder, Public Works Director; L. Hansen, Conservation Administrator; J. Junghanns, Director of Public Health; Wayland Recreation Commission

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TOWN OF WAYLAND Recreation Department 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, Massachusetts 01778 www.wayland.ma.us (508) 358-3660

Waterfront of Dudley Pond at Mansion Road / Lakeshore Drive

“Mansion Beach”

Area referred to as “Mansion Beach”

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Katherine Brenna, Director Recreation Department 41 Cochituate Rd. Wayland, MA 01778 08 October 2021 Dear Ms. BrennaI am writing to you on behalf of the Surface Water Quality Committee (SWQC) regarding oversight of Mansion Beach on Dudley Pond.

It is the understanding of SWQC that the Department of Public Works (DPW) provides a trash can and occasional trash pick up as an informal ‘ad hoc’ service.

Separately, the Wayland Health Department (HD) tests for E. coli and closes the beach when bacterial levels are too high for safe public use. The recurring problem of goose waste in relation to these outbreaks had been discussed at least once by the Recreation Commission on 09 July 2019, with open questions posed as to appropriate course of action.

The SWQC is not aware of communication between DPW and HD with the Recreation Department to coordinate these activities. As Mansion Beach is formally under the oversight of the latter, I would be glad to come before the Recreation Commission to discuss these concerns and plans for mitigation.

Sincerely, Thomas Klem Chair Surface Water Quality Committee