Next week the state Department of Natural Resources will present a revised map of where mooring buoys will be allowed in Quartermaster Harbor under the department’s proposed buoy plan. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, at McMurray Middle School.

The map has been updated since last month’s meeting, attended by about 80 Islanders, based on feedback received at the meeting as well as information gathered by a buoy survey the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun at the harbor.

The creation of the map is the next step in a long-term project by DNR to clear the harbor of abandoned buoys and make the bay safer for boats. The map focuses on the most congested parts of the harbor at Dockton and Burton, and under the buoy plan, some buoys would be required to move.

Once the plan is finalized this summer, the public will be able to comment on it as part of an environmental review.

Toni Droscher, a DNR spokeswoman, said officials will continue to take feedback on the plan at next week’s meeting and will also show EPA photos of buoys and anchors in the harbor. Some buoys in the harbor, Droscher said, do not comply with state law.

Droscher said DNR officials also hope to see more buoy license applications submitted at the meeting. Eventually any buoys that aren’t registered with the state or do not comply with regulations will be removed.

 

 

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