By
Everett Castro of Green Futures
The
original post can be found in the Westport River Watershed Alliance February
2014 River News issue.
Not
all those that wander are lost ...so bear with me.
I often meander about, like our coastal
rivers do, when I'm asked to write "a few words" about the remarkable
Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. Be warned, I might meander even further
afield since I'm going to write a few words not only about our Bioreserve but
also about the far reaches of the Westport River watershed, an impaired
Rattlesnake Brook and the support and advocacy from your Westport River
Watershed Alliance. Ready? Have your trusty compass or GPS with you? Okay,
let's go.
If
you're not familiar with the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve ...you
should be! Our Bioreserve consists of a large, contiguous forest with diverse
habitats and natural communities with the largest portion, owned by all of us,
managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and
Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife. Also included are the Watuppa
Watershed lands of the Fall River Water Department as well as land owned and
managed by The Trustees of Reservations.
The purpose of our Bioreserve is to
protect, restore and enhance the biological diversity and ecological integrity
of a large scale ecosystem representative of southeastern Massachusetts. Neat,
that's right where we live!
The
Bioreserve also permanently protects water supplies, such as North Watuppa
Pond, Copicut Reservoir and wetlands that drain to coastal rivers. In addition,
the Bioreserve protects early cultural resources and allows for interpretive
educational programs on natural and human history. In this densely populated
southeastern corner of the state, the Bioreserve also provides opportunities
for passive outdoor recreation and enjoyment of our natural environment.
Within
the Bioreserve is the second highest natural hill in Bristol County. Let's
meander over there. Copicut Hill is 354 feet high with a DCR forest
fire lookout tower at its summit. For those who may now be wondering about the
highest hill in Bristol County, it is Sunrise Hill, 389 feet, in North
Attleborough ...but we won't acknowledge that slight height advantage over
Copicut since Sunrise Hill is about as far away as a hill can get and still be
in Bristol County.
Copicut
Hill's topography and the descending height and subtle shape of its ridges
creates a dividing line between what flows west and north to the Taunton River
and south and east to the Westport River via the Copicut and Shingle Island
Rivers and Bread and Cheese Brook. The East Branch is born in sphagnum bogs,
cedar swamps and hillside springs deep in the woods.
Wandering
back 22 years there wasn't a Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve ...just some
city watershed land, some state land, and a large block of privately owned
wooded property. Back then rapacious developers and scurrilous schemers coveted
those open space parcels for dubious development projects large and small. Some
of the proposed projects were truly scary, others laughable. Here's a partial
list of some of the more memorable: giant coal gasification refinery with 24/7
coal deliveries via a new rail line across public land into the forest;
industrial warehouse park; race horse breeding farm, low-level nuclear waste
repository; "Chinese" theme park; mega landfill; adult entertainment
zone.
 |
Egregious erosion and brook filled
with rocks and gravel
|
In
desperation at the frequency of these proposals and the folly of destroying
water supplies, wetlands and forest a few concerned folks from Fall River and
Freetown joined together and formed Green Futures, www.greenfutures.org. One of our members dubbed the
area the Copicut Greenbelt and we set forth searching for allies. Aware of an
early WRWA poster that showed the Westport River watershed extending all the
way to the "Copicut Greenbelt" we sought our first ally and
immediately found one in WRWA's young and energetic executive director, Gay
Gillespie.
Since
the beginning of the struggle to drive away those temple destroyers and
devotees of ravaging commercialism...notice that nod to John Muir? ...WRWA was
there at the start. Over time other environmental groups, individuals, state
environmental agencies and local legislators came on board and ...with many
starts and stops ...helped turn the Copicut Greenbelt into the Southeastern
Massachusetts Bioreserve. Okay, are you still wandering with me... or have
you been distracted by something vastly less important? If still with me, it is
now 2014 and we have a problem that diminishes, hampers, the full potential of
the Bioreserve.
We
have wandered north, over the Bioreserve watershed divide to Rattlesnake Brook.
Rattlesnake Brook begins at swamps, bogs and springs on the northwest side of
Copicut Hill and flows north dumping into the Assonet River at Payne's Cove,
just west of Route 24 in Freetown. Two miles downstream, from the confluence of
the now tidal Rattlesnake Brook and Assonet River, the Assonet meets the
federally designated Wild and Scenic Taunton River.
 |
Person standing where bluff has been
worn away from illegal OHV activity
|
Rattlesnake
Brook is a lovely brook, similar to West Branch, Westport River's Angeline
Brook both in size and character. Historically Rattlesnake Brook hosted
anadromous alewife, blueback herring, rainbow smelt and salter brook trout.
Unlike Angeline Brook, Rattlesnake Brook has an old, remnant dam at tidewater
that prevented fish, except for American eels, from freely moving up and down
and in and out the brook. The dam is slated to be removed in the near future
and this will hopefully help restore extirpated anadromous species and add to
the biodiversity of the Bioreserve.
Unfortunately,
the Rattlesnake Brook valley, just upstream of the old dam, has been the site
of illegal off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity. This section of the Bioreserve
is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
(DCR). They have failed to monitor OHV activity and there has been scant
enforcement of OHV rules, regulations and laws. The damage is egregious.
Not a high profile DCR managed property
...think Horseneck Beach State Reservation, with thousands of patrons and the
political interest that brings ...DCR is loath to secure that area of the
Bioreserve and restore the brook and land. They need a little nudge.
 |
Big erosion rut and trees that
have fallen
|
Looking for support from those that
early on understood the importance of the Bioreserve and its mission we brought
this issue to WRWA. Just as in the beginning, support was received. We are also
reaching out for support to other regional and statewide groups and
organizations. We appreciate the continued support WRWA has provided the
Bioreserve. After all, only a slight geological adjustment, back 10,000 or more
years ago, might have put the Rattlesnake Brook watershed on the Westport River
side of the watershed divide. Yes, we are all in this together.
Hopefully,
someday, a protected greenway that we can wander through or meander about on
will extend down from the Bioreserve following the Westport River from source
to sea. Wouldn't that be wonderful!
Want
to wander the Bioreserve?
There's a very comprehensive map of the
Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve that is available and best of all, free!
If you don't have one you can get one at:
· The Town Farm, 830
Drift Road, Westport
· Watuppa Reservation
Headquarters, 2929 Blossom Road, Fall River
· Fall River Water
Department, 3rd Floor, Government Center, Fall River
· Freetown State Forest
Headquarters, Slab Bridge Road, Freetown
To
read more about Rattlesnake Brook, please visit the Green Futures
newsletter archive on their website, and select the October
2013 and February
2014 newsletters.
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