The Marion Natural History Museum has been educating the public for decades on the wonders of the natural world. The small space occupied on the second floor of the Elizabeth Taber Library is its home base. In this case, size doesn’t matter. The museum is a mighty powerhouse for learning.

            Currently in transition as the museum performs an inventory and archiving project, one wall has become home to a massive mural of a North Atlantic Right Whale. The 40-foot-long visual depiction is at full scale and intended to keep this most endangered marine animal in the forefront of humankind’s desire to protect species other than ourselves.

            In the 1970s, the Endangered Species Act was created to provide a framework for the protection of animals threatened with extinction. And while many experts in the field of marine studies would agree that protection is a good thing, they will also agree there is still so much more that needs doing.

            During the heyday of the whaling industry, roughly the 1800s, Right Whales were nearly hunted to extinction. Dubbed the “Right Whale” for the volume of oil and baleen they contained, they are also slow swimmers, making them easy prey for whalers.

            You may ask why baleen was such a prized commodity. Consider what clothing was comprised of in that era. Baleen was sought for a myriad of uses but primarily for fashion. Baleen is strong and flexible, which made it ideal for coresets, collars, hooped skirts and hat brims. It was also part of the construction of umbrellas, riding crops and buggy whips. One could argue these are luxury items, not necessities.

            Dr. Michael Moore, a board member of the Natural History Museum and a Marion resident, is also an expert in the field of marine life in all its forms as a senior scientist of Biology and director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Marine Mammal Center.

            Moore has also penned “We Are All Whalers,” a book chronicling the plight of whales and our joint responsibility to protect them. Moore has been instrumental in shedding light on these issues and in bringing the whale mural to Marion.

            “There are approximately 340 North American Right Whales remaining … North Atlantic Right Whales slowly recovered from about 250 in 1990 to a peak of almost 500 in 2010 before crashing again,” Moore explained during a recent interview.

            He said they are a “protected” species and are listed as an endangered species, but “good intentions do not always result in obligations fulfilled.” Moore explained, “The dual threats of trauma from vessel collisions and entanglement in rope have never been managed adequately since we realized how much of a problem they were in the 1990s.”

            Moore went on to say, “We try to manage them by controlling mortality, but efforts in that regard have been an abject failure in recent years, both in U.S. and Canadian waters. Furthermore, the sublethal trauma they suffer from vessels and rope means that the whales that are still alive are in poor health with stunted growth and poor reproduction.”

            Moore cited studies proving that the North Atlantic Right Whale is at birth now 3 feet shorter and much thinner than whales born in studies before the 1980s.

            The recent sighting of North Atlantic Right Whales in the Cape Cod Canal did not surprise Moore, but he said there is always concern when whales come into close contact with boats. “We know they are around, but we don’t know why they were there – maybe just curious.” He commended the Army Corps of Engineers for shutting down the waterway so the whales could move about and leave the area unharmed.

            As for the mural, Moore shared his hope of its installation in a place of learning that would inspire, “… a sense of wonder about the animals and some understanding of the threat the species is under in terms of a very real risk of extinction in the next few decades … some idea as to how this can change.”

            And when asked what the average person can do to shine a light on the North Atlantic Right Whale’s future, Moore pointed to elected officials and vendors making the case that “if the voting, consuming public were to demand of their vendors and politicians that these industries were not a threat to these animals, then those industries and the whales could both survive.

            “Ask their elected representatives and vendors to hold these concerns as priorities. Obviously, that is a tall order, given that we care a lot about the cost of all these needs. But we have to take the longer view and recognize that these Right Whale problems are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems humans have created for a world, of which we are a very influential partner.”

            Visit marionmusuem.org for more information on hours of operation and programs for all ages.

Marion Natural History Museu

mBy Marilou Newell

On Saturday, March 18, Boys Scouts Troop 32 Scoutmaster Paul St. Don will help take Troop 32 and Pack 32 (Cub Scouts) over to Camp Hadley to do some cleanup of the March 8 brush fire that destroyed buildings and belongings at the scouts’ Marion headquarters.

            “And talk about what happened,” he said.

            A neighbor is still hospitalized after trying in vain to put out the wind-driven fire emanating from his burning of pinecones that crossed approximately 60 feet to the Camp Hadley Trust property line and another 60 feet to the first building that went ablaze.

            “He had no cell phone with him, so he ran up County Road to his daughter’s house to make the call,” explained St. Don, acknowledging that by the time a call could be made the fire was out of control. “He’s very distraught about it, and I want to make sure his family knows that we’re more worried about him than Camp Hadley. He gave it his all to try to put it out.”

            The Marion Fire Department reported having received a 911 call at 12:16 pm for “a brushfire that got away from the property owner.” Upon arrival, Engine 1 personnel saw that the fire had spread to both of Camp Hadley’s buildings. Mutual aid came for assistance from Wareham, Mattapoisett and Rochester Fire departments, and Onset Fire supported Marion station coverage.

            Marion responding units included: C-1, C-2, A-1-2, E-1, Tk-1 and S-1-2, along with Marion Police. Other units responding were Wareham C-1-C-3 and Mattapoisett C-1.

            Troop 32 followed with a press release stating that while the cause of the fire remains under investigation, “initial indications are that a neighbor’s brush burn got out of control and spread to the Camp Hadley property.”

            Scouting gear, including canoes, life jackets, oars, a sled and even the soap-box-derby cars that the children annually race on Holmes Street were lost in the fire that destroyed the camp’s main cabin, bunkroom, kitchen and storage shed.

            As of Tuesday morning, $2,305 of a $25,000 target had been received via donations, according to Kristen Guevara’s GoFundMe page for the Camp Hadley Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving as charter organization and headquarters for Marion Boy Scout Troop 32 and Cub Scouts Pack 32.

            The challenge in bringing back Troop 32’s scouting experience is substantial, and the Reverend Eric Fialho of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Marion has offered the church’s parish hall as an alternate meeting place, but no plans were yet confirmed as of Tuesday.

            “Everything’s still in the infancy stages,” said St. Don, noting a potential car wash this spring and the formation of an Amazon wish list.

            Troop 32 publicly thanked Marion Fire Department for a fast and professional response and the mutual aid that came from fire departments in Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham. Troop leaders also publicly thanked the Boy Scouts of America Narragansett Council for reaching out in support.

            “It’s a hiccup as far as scouts goes,” said St. Don. “We’ll get through this, just use it as a learning tool.”

            For more information or to donate there, visit gofundme.com/f/camp-hadley-fire-recovery-fund?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer. Those wishing to support the local scouts can also mail a check to Troop 32 Marion, PO Box 504, Marion, MA 02738.

By Mick Colageo

            The Mattapoisett Bike Path has been a work in process for decades, involving numerous town officials, department heads and an equal or greater number of volunteers. So when the construction of the heralded Phase 1b featuring a lengthy, raised boardwalk traversing scenic wetlands and coastal beaches at last began, a collective “hurray” rang out from the Fairhaven-to-Marion boundaries. But the rejoicing was short lived. The boardwalk crossing the Eel Pond breach and skirting the Good Speed Island beach would be delayed for over a year.

            The delays were primarily due to defective planking that was selected by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, but behind the scenes Mattapoisett’s Select Board (including the late John DeCosta), along with Representative William Straus, Mattapoisett’s Bike Path Committee and the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee, stayed the course working through finite details.

            Direct and indirect effects in the pandemic only exacerbated the difficulty inherent in this phase of the project.

            With the planking issues resolved, there remain written agreements between the town and the state as to the divvying up of responsibilities and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

            Recently, Select Board members Jordan Collyer and Tyler Macallister confirmed the bike path connecting Mattapoisett’s Phase 1 and Phase 1b is close at hand.

            Macallister recently used the Mattapoisett Life Facebook page to update the public, writing: “Hello Mattapoisett. Just finished up a punch list walk for the section of the bike path between Reservation Road and Goodspeed Island with the MA DOT, D.W White (contractor), engineering firm, Mike Lorenco (town administrator) and Garret Bauer (highway surveyor.) Next on the list is a bridge inspection by the state, completion of a few minor items identified during the walk, completion of the MOU with the state and some other minor items. A mid-April opening is not out of the question, but a couple gating items are beyond the Town’s control. I compliment D.W. White on a very nice job and the cleanliness of the area. I will update as I learn more.”

            Collyer told us in a follow-up, “Looks like Memorial Day or sooner is possible but still have to sign the MOU.”

            There is no firm date for a handoff yet, but many are anxiously awaiting that announcement.

            In the meantime, the Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee is pushing forward with preliminary designs for what might prove to be an equally difficult section Phase 2a, crossing Route 6 and North Street at the Industrial Park area.

            During their March 8 public meeting, the committee heard from Pare Corporation, the engineering firm selected to complete a 10% conceptual design that includes layers of topographical, hydrological and feasibility data.

            For an hour, the group delved into not only the very real concerns of cycling and pedestrian safety when traveling close to busy roadways but also easement and wetland considerations.

            Pare described types of crossing safety equipment, flashing caution signage, as well as signage instructing users when, where and how to cross roadways. They shared a conceptual design that takes the proposed pathway through abutting neighborhoods, including one or more driveways now considered private.

            It became clear during discussion of the railroad easement and private property abutting the former railroad bed that this issue is very unclear. Who owns or has rights to what easements remains a gaping hole in the conversation.

            In a follow-up with longtime bike-path advocate and now newest member of the Bike Path Committee (again), Bonne DaSousa stated, “At every stage of planning, the ownership of the (railroad) right-of-way must be confirmed or acquired.”

            Clearly there are miles to go before they sleep, but the Bike Path Committee is rolling along.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee is planned for Wednesday, April 12.

Mattapoisett Bike Path Committee

By Marilou Newell