I became interested in the Cape Wind project roughly five years ago, and my passion to protect Nantucket Sound has grown since then. Much has changed in the debate since that time, and thankfully the only structure that Jim Gordon has been able to construct on Horseshoe Shoal is a test tower less than a third of the size of the actual turbines he proposes. On most days, you can drive along Craigville Beach and look to the south to see the slender tower standing alone among the ferries, trawlers, and recreational boats. Though I have become accustomed to seeing this eyesore on a daily basis, I am thankful for it when I the Cape Wind Associates website reports wind gusts in the sound ranging from 1 to 2 knots, energy production at 0 megawatts. On these occasions, I hope that I am not the only citizen paying attention.
When steaming out of Stage Harbor in Chatham, leaving Hyannis aboard a ferry, or sailing from Vineyard Haven, you cannot look out to see where the waters of Massachusetts State Ocean Sanctuary end, and where the federal waters begin. If you are fortunate enough have spent time in Nantucket Sound you will know that this water sheet resembles coastal waters, not the outer continental shelf. Despite all this, the Cape Wind proposal continues to move through a permitting process because Horseshoe Shoal lies in federal waters. Moreover, these are the only federal waters in the continental United States that are surrounded by state waters, and in Massachusetts’ case Ocean Sanctuary. If you are unfamiliar with the legislative history of Nantucket Sound consider this: the entire Sound, all 163 nautical miles, were designated Cape and Islands Ocean Sanctuary by Massachusetts law makers in the 1970’s. Since then, Nantucket Sound has been nominated twice as a National Marine Ocean Sanctuary. The Sound and its diverse ecologies are truly worthy of protection from industrial development.
The United States does not currently have legislation in place to regulate offshore renewable energy on the nation’s outer continental shelf (OCS). When Jim Gordon of Cape Wind Associates first proposed the project in 2001, the industrial wind farm was the only one of its kind in the United States, and largest in the world. The project continues in its permitting process today – but it has taken the hard work of concerned citizens and lawmakers on Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill to ensure that project is evaluated with the interests of the public in mind. At the forefront of this battle is the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a not-for-profit Cape-based group. The Alliance has been instrumental in ensuring that the permitting process for Cape Wind is complete and accurately addresses the benefits and drawbacks of an industrial wind farm in the Sound.
Nantucket Sound is not the place for the first industrial wind farm in the United States. There are other viable locations that should be explored before any project of this kind is permitted. Stewardship of the Earth is not limited to addressing global warming. If we truly care about posterity, we will preserve this national treasure and simultaneously face global challenges.
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Nantucket Sound cultural activities include commercial fishing, recreational fishing d boating, and navigation. Fishing and marine trades as well as tourism drive the economy of this quaint, New England, historic, seaside community. Massachusetts' 800,000 anglers generate nearly one $billion in annual economic activity. Nantucket Sound is the heart of State's fishing industry and is an Essential Fish Habitat.
We have not developed a comprehensive ocean use policy, moreover; our treasured historic and cultural resource is at risk of degradation that will forever alter this historic seaside community's appearance, and forever alter residents' way of life.
We must take responsibility and determine what ocean areas are to be retained for use by the public and preserved for our future generations. Nantucket Sound is at the very center of this internationally recognized tourist location destination. The historic integrity of one of the world's finest surviving examples of a historic whaling ports and Nantucket Sound merits our continuing preservation efforts.
I offer this first quote as it is delivered by the 35th President of The United States, whose family home is a National Historic Landmark, The Kennedy Compound. This iconic and historic place we refer to as "Camelot," would be adversely affected by the Cape Wind facility according to the Massachusetts Scenic Historic Preservation officer, Brona Simon, and the USACE.
How poignant, is it that this quote is attributed to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, whose family home, our National Historic Landmark, would be adversely impacted by Cape Wind? How poignant, that he has provided us with his wisdom, "hand down undiminished" regarding this national treasure? How poignant, that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was dedicating the building constructed to house this nation's custodians of wildlife that would be driven from their habitats and die by the thousands if Cape Wind is permitted:
"It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, at the dedication of the National Wildlife Federation Building [March 3, 1961]