Time will tell. The article seems to be more focused on climate change. The Trustees does a lot of good work.
Not anymore, sadly.
We have been vacationing on Chappaquiddick Island for over 20 years. We spend most days out on the Trustees property Cape Poge. We buy an oversand sticker for our truck and drive 4+ miles from the road, far away from any crowds.
I used to respect the Trustees for how they balanced conservation with access and how they governed the beach with a gentle hand. Sadly, I’ve learned that what I respected was the person in charge of Cape Poge (and other properties), Chris Kennedy. After Chris retired, it has all gone to crap,
Trustees have eliminated access to the Cape Poge Gut and the Elbow, two of the best fishing spots in Cape Poge. Last year they presented a draft beach management plan (four years after it was due) that would have eliminated access to about 1/2 the Cape Poge beaches. It’s reception by beach users and the Edgartown Conservation Commission could best be described as folks thinking about warming up the tar and gathering feathers. Trustees had been managing the Norton Point Beach for Edgartown and that contract was up for renewal. Trustees wisely realized that they were so hated that they didn’t even reapply to manage Norton Point Beach.
After their first beach management plan was shot down in flames, Trustees made a big show of being nice and engaging with the community prior to submitting a second draft. It was all for show. They never negotiated in good faith. Their second draft plan is basically the same as their first plan.
As a result of them being so late in submitting a beach management plan, we are likely to be limited to access only 50% of the beach this year.
There was a time when Trustees was apolitical, focusing on balancing conservation with access. But in the past four years, they’ve gone all woke. They are now focused on global warming, diversity/equity/inclusion, etc.
My wife and I don’t have any children. We have been reevaluating our will. At one point I considered putting Trustees as a major beneficiary. No longer. I won’t give them an effing dime more than our annual beach sticker.