Of 1,000 comments on Mohegan's' aquaculture plan, nearly all opposed
Published on May 6, 2001  The Day By Ann Baldelli
    One would think the Mohegan's had declared war on boaters. Since the tribe announced plans in March for a $10 million aquaculture venture in Fishers Island Sound and nearby waters, nearly 1,000 people have written to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oppose it.     "We've had close to 1,000 comments in writing, and all but one have been in opposition to the existing proposal," said Corps Project Manager Cori M. Rose. "A lot of it is perception. I don't think a lot of people understand what the project will entail. They don't understand, and they're afraid."  There is also a certain racist strain.
    Rose said some people have written her office voicing objections to the project simply because it has been proposed by the tribe. Those comments, she said, will not be considered.
There is so much interest in the tribe's oyster and clam business, Rose said, that she is having trouble finding a location large enough to house the crowd she anticipates will turn out for the public hearing in late June.
    The Army Corps will continue to accept written comments on the project, but Rose said it is important that any correspondence include specific details.
"We're getting a lot of generic 'We don't like the project' letters," she said. "But that doesn't help us. We need to understand why people use these areas, and how they use them. We need to understand why they are opposed and if they feel aquaculture in general is a bad thing."
Meanwhile, in the face of all that opposition, the Mohegan Tribal Council has instructed its aquaculture director to reassess the project and see if it can be modified to address the concerns.
Tribal Ambassador Jayne Fawcett said the Mohegan's want to be good neighbors, but will not scale the project back to a point where it is no longer profitable.
    "This has to be a workable project for us, because it is a large investment," Fawcett said. "We have a constituency, too."
    Similar shellfish operations in Connecticut have been limited to the water's bottom. The Mohegan's proposal is controversial because it includes fixed and floating nets and cages. "The concept is really not that unusual, but it's the first such proposal of any scale in Long Island Sound," said Rose. "In Maine, these systems are regularly used, and they underwent similar scrutiny when they were first proposed." Except for a one-acre research project operated by a vocational high school in Bridgeport, no one else in Connecticut is doing what the Mohegan's have proposed, said John Volk, the state's director of aquaculture. "This is a fairly new initiative and it goes beyond the usual scope," he said.
Maps included with the Army Corps' public notice of the project detail all of the tribe's leased beds. On most of the sites, tribal officials said they are proposing minimal use of the plots. The tribe leases almost 1,500 acres of shellfish habitat from the state, and hopes to secure additional leases from municipal shellfish agencies and individuals that own or manage the water's bottom in local waterways.
To date, the tribe has spent almost $2.5 million, including $1.7 million for waterfront property in Stonington borough, on the project that it hoped would be a successful diversification from its lucrative Mohegan Sun casino. In addition to the Stonington Shellfish Commission, the tribe either has or is seeking lease agreements with Brian Sullivan, who maintains a fish trap in Niantic Bay. Although the tribe has proposed activities at seven different sites between the Niantic Bay and Pawcatuck River, almost all the opposition is centered on two locations, one near Pine Island and the other at the mouth of the Mystic River.
    There is opposition to some of the other sites, but the Army Corps said overwhelmingly the correspondence addresses activities proposed in Pine Island Bay and Fishers Island Sound near the Pine Island Marina and Shennecossett Yacht Club and the mouth of the Mystic River.
The activities near Pine Island are the most contentious.
    "That's the hotbed," said Rose. "There are large marinas there, and a lot of seasonal use. There's a large concentration of users in a small area."
A moving target
    Four tribal councilors accompanied Paul D. Maugle, who is heading up the project, on a five-hour boat trip last week to look at the proposed sites and discuss possible alternatives to the current application before the Army Corps. Tribal Vice Chairman Peter Schultz said the Mohegan's have asked Maugle to come up with various scenarios for the more volatile sites. "We're going to go to the public hearing prepared to offer up alternatives," he said. "A good public hearing is a place to compromise." Schultz, an avid fisherman who owns a small boat, participated in the tour of the proposed sites last week and voiced concerns about the activities on the south side of Pine Island. "We have a lot of room to maneuver here, and we will," he said. "I can see what the concerns are here." Maugle had proposed moving the long lines further off the shore of Pine Island, but Schultz said he was concerned that then they might be too close to the channel. "I'm a fisherman. I know how many people are out here in the summertime," he said. Depending on the tribe's revisions, the Army Corps might reissue a new public notice of the proposed activity prior to the public hearing. But if the Mohegan's propose alternatives within the existing boundaries, those revisions would be debated at the public hearing, Rose said. "We want public discussion," she said. "We want to know if there are areas that can be used by the tribe for aquaculture purposes that will have minimal impact on boating and recreational activities."
The Corps will consider impacts to habitat, safety, navigation, aesthetics, economics, and what is in the public's best interest, she said. "We will look at everything. We will look at a full range of values," said Rose. Over time, Rose said the tribe has tweaked its plan to address various concerns. "This project has been a moving target for two years, and the chances are, it will change again," she said. Volk said he hopes there can be a compromise.
    "The tribe seems very willing. They want to co-exist and be good neighbors," he said. "They're willing to modify their proposal and relocate. And what better use, what more noble use of coastal areas is there than to grow food?" While there are numerous opponents to the project in its current form, Volk said others want to see the Mohegan's succeed. "We really want to cooperate, and we want to welcome them," said Barbara Gordon, director of the Connecticut Seafood Council. "But if they want to get into aquaculture, they've got to scale it down and be careful not to step on other boats and traps in the water. "I haven't heard anybody say they don't want them, but we have to be able to work with them," she said. In addition to an Army Corps permit, the Office of the Long Island Sound Program of the state Department of Environmental Protection will have to decide whether the project is consistent with the state's coastal zone management program. Betsey Wingfield, assistant director of the Long Island Sound Program, said her office has sent a letter to the Army Corps saying it needs additional information before making that determination. Wingfield said the DEP office would be looking at impacts to the environment and navigation.
At the marinas
    In the meantime, opposition is growing.
Yacht clubs, marinas and sailing groups have sent their members form letters to forward to the Army Corps, opposing the project. Others have asked their customers or members to review the tribe's application and make recommendations to authorities.
    Chris Field, vice commodore of the 400-member Mystic River Mudheads, a sailing club, said the proposed site at the head of the Mystic River is a lousy idea.
    "It's like putting a farm in the middle of Interstate 95," he said. "The amount of traffic coming out of the Mystic River is tremendous. I don't think you could find a worse place to put this if you tried."
Peter Tilton, owner and general manager of Pine Island Marina, said a number of his clients have expressed concern about the proposal, and the marina has sent a letter to the Army Corps.
Tilton and his manager, Jeff Dziedzic, expressed concerns about possible safety issues if boaters get fouled in the aquaculture gear. "They could be navigational hazards," Tilton said. He also wondered if a floating oyster-rearing system might emit offensive odors. "We support aquaculture. We'd like to have oysters out here," Tilton said. "But we have concerns, too."
    Recreational fishermen have asked whether the tribe's gear would restrict access to bountiful fishing grounds. George Andrews of Terryville, who launches his boat at Pine Island Marina, said the south side of Pine Island in an area that fishermen call "Albie Alley," for its abundance of late summer and fall albacore and bonito. "I personally spend an estimated 80 to 120 hours per year fishing within the subject area and know the species abundance very well," he said in his letter to the Army Corps. "The proposed structure and related long-line network will make bottom fishing for fluke, scup and other bottom fish virtually impossible."
    The managers at Pine Island Marina, Tilton and Dziedzic think perhaps if the tribe moved its entire operation south of Fishers Island, it could work. Inside Fishers Island, they fear there is too much boat traffic.
    Jeffrey Marshall, co-owner of Mystic Shipyard and the Noank Village Boatyard said the tribe's current proposal would create "a whole lot of headaches for people. "I don't deny them the opportunity to do something like this, I think it's great," he said. "Just do it somewhere else."
Seeking compromise
    Volk said the goal is to find a balance. "The idea here is to see if everybody can co-exist with minimal conflicts," he said. There are good reasons, he said, why opponents should look for solutions to make the project work. Typically, financial institutions have not financed fishing operations, he said, and the tribe could open doors. "Lenders are leery because it is a risky business," Volk said. But if the Mohegan's finance their own operation, and succeed, they could help other commercial fishermen. "The tribe has the financial wherewithal to move this along," he said. "Now we have a healthy dialogue going on, and the tribe is listening. They have to see what other user's concerns are, and then they have to see if they can all cooperate, and work together." In other parts of the state, Volk said commercial operators and recreational users have been able to share waterways. In some areas, the state's leases overlap with mooring areas or fishing grounds, and Volk said compromises have been achieved. "The Sound really is for everybody," he said. "There has to be a balance. We have issued leases to the Mohegan's, and are encouraged to see them move ahead."
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