Dear Editor,
Island Wharf Is a Trust, Not a Parking Lot. This article appeared in the February 5, 2026, edition of The Wanderer. At a recent meeting, the Marion Select Board discussed future regulation of Island Wharf, focusing on parking and use of the green space between the Music Hall and the Maritime Center.
Island Wharf was given to Marion in 1901 “exclusively for a public purpose, not commercial.” That language is unambiguous, and it carries moral weight. The Select Board is not the owner of Island Wharf; it is its trustee. Trustees do not trade away a public inheritance for convenience.
Garrett Hardin warned that commons are not destroyed by bad actors, but by reasonable people making small exceptions. One truck becomes another, one weekend becomes a season, and the damage becomes permanent. Grass compacted by heavy vehicles does not heal. The loss is quiet, incremental, and irreversible.
To permit commercial vehicles, equipment, or boat storage on the green is to choose short-term accommodation over long-term responsibility. It is to spend down a shared asset that does not belong to any one business, visitor, or board, but to the entire town, including those not yet here to speak for it.
Concern for local business is understandable. But Marion’s economy depends on its character, not its convenience. Once Island Wharf is scarred, no regulation will restore what was lost.
Alternatives exist. The Sippican School, nearby church lots, and street parking can meet seasonal demand without sacrificing the green. The moral choice before the Select Board is simple: protect the commons now, or be remembered as the board that allowed it to be slowly erased.
The Select Board’s Duty: Protect the Commons at Island Wharf.
Eileen J. Marum, Marion
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