For Cape Cod Wind Farm, New Hurdle Is Spiritual

[Nagishkaw 510]

BOSTON — In a new setback for a controversial wind farm proposed off Cape Cod, the National Park Service announced Monday that Nantucket Sound was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, guaranteeing further delays for the project.

Known as Cape Wind, the project is the nation’s first planned offshore wind farm and would cover 24 square miles in the sound, an area roughly the size of Manhattan. The park service decision came in response to a request from two Massachusetts Indian tribes, who said the 130 proposed wind turbines would thwart their spiritual ritual of greeting the sunrise, which requires unobstructed views across the sound, and disturb ancestral burial grounds.

The tribes — the Mashpee Wampanoag of Cape Cod and the Aquinnah Wampanoag of Martha’s Vineyard — sought the listing last fall, shortly before a final federal decision on the project was expected. The project has been in the works since 2001 and is strongly supported by Gov. Deval Patrick.

The decision by the National Park Service did not kill the Cape Wind plan, but it erected new hurdles by requiring more negotiations and, possibly, changes to the project, like moving it. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set a deadline of March 1 for the tribes and the project’s developer, Energy Management Inc., to reach a compromise.

If they do not — a distinct possibility given the acrimony surrounding the project — Mr. Salazar can decide the project’s future himself after seeking suggestions from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an independent group. But even if Mr. Salazar lets the project move forward, the park service finding could help the tribes and opponents build a legal case against it.

Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, said the decision confirmed “what the Wampanoag people have known for thousands of years: that Nantucket Sound has significant archaeological, historic and cultural values and is sacred to our people.”

Others said the finding was surprising because Nantucket Sound, which encompasses more than 500 square miles, is by far the largest body of water ever found eligible for listing on the national historic register. Other eligible bodies of water have included Walden Pond in Massachusetts, which covers about 60 acres, and Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico, which is about 6,500 feet across, said Jeffrey Olson, a spokesman for the park service.

“The decision is without precedent in terms of implicating many square miles of what is, legally speaking, the high seas,” said Ian A. Bowles, the Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs. “But as a procedural matter, it’s a good thing a decision was reached, and the secretary is getting personally involved to get it over the finish line.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Salazar said he planned to meet next week with representatives of the tribes and the developer in hopes of speeding a resolution.

The park service decision comes at a time when Mr. Cromwell’s tribe, which won federal recognition in 2007, is hoping to build a casino.

President Obama has championed wind energy during his first year in office, though he has not publicly taken sides in the Cape Wind battle. In addition to the tribes, the project’s opponents include homeowners and boaters on Cape Cod, who say it would hurt wildlife, fishing and tourism and spoil the beauty of Nantucket Sound. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, whose family compound in Hyannis Port looks out on the proposed wind farm site, was the project’s most powerful opponent until his death last August.

In seeking the historical designation, the Wampanoag tribes — whose name translates to “people of the first light” — said their view to the east across Nantucket Sound was integral to their identity and cultural traditions.

“Here is where we still arrive to greet the new day, watch for celestial observations in the night sky and follow the migration of the sun and stars in change with the season,” wrote Bettina Washington, historic preservation officer for the Aquinnah Wampanoag, in a letter to federal officials.

Supporters of Cape Wind have pointed out that the Aquinnah Wampanoag’s land is on the western side of Martha’s Vineyard, which does not face Nantucket Sound. But in its ruling, the National Park Service nonetheless said the sound was significant to both tribes.

“The sound is part of a larger, culturally significant landscape treasured by the Wampanoag tribes and inseparably associated with their history,” wrote Janet Snyder Matthews, who was the keeper of the National Register of Historic Places until she left the park service in December.

The tribes also argued that the wind turbines, which would be 440 feet tall, could destroy long-submerged tribal artifacts from thousands of years ago, when the sound was dry land. Such artifacts could “yield further confirmation of our cultural histories,” Ms. Washington wrote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/science/.../05wind.html?hp

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Now we see how all the Libtards fight clean energy. SAVE THE PLANET! But not in my backyard.

Hypocrites. No take that back. They are NOT hypocrites. In order to be hypocrites, GW would have to be real...it isn't. They are just Libtards

[lostinblue 1,989]

The park service decision comes at a time when Mr. Cromwell’s tribe, which won federal recognition in 2007, is hoping to build a casino.

I guess building a casino fits right in with a "spiritual" awakening. The tribe has only 98 acres to work with

TRIBAL LANDS

The Wampanoag trust lands are located in the southwest portion of Martha's Vineyard Island in the town of Gay Head. In accordance with 1987 Settlement Act with the federal government there are approximately 485 acres of Tribal Lands purchased (160 acres private and approximately 325 acres common lands). The common lands include the Gay Head Cliffs, Herring Creek, and Lobsterville, and the private lands include parcels I, IIA, IIB, and III (see map). Other land owned by the Tribe include parcels in Christiantown and Chappaquiddick. A master plan of Wampanoag Tribal Lands was developed in 1993 for approximately 160 acres of the Wampanoag Tribal Trust Land, comprising of parcels I, IIA, IIB, and III. The Master Plan followed several years of investigative efforts and illustrates the present vision of the future tribal community in Gay Head.

Because of sensitivity to the area's wetlands and historical and archeological sites, only 98 acres of the Wampanoag land base is developable. Through the efforts of the Tribe, a land use master plan was developed in 1993 for the careful development and protection of tribal lands. Based on the land use plan the Tribe has constructed a multi-purpose community facility that provides space for public gatherings and social functions, as well as space for its government offices and programs (health services, human services, education, natural resources, economic development, trust services, historic preservation and planning), and has developed over 30 units of affordable housing. The Tribe owns and operates several businesses, including a shellfish hatchery and is in the process of constructing a large community center that will house a daycare facility.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Now we see how all the Libtards fight clean energy. SAVE THE PLANET! But not in my backyard.

Hypocrites. No take that back. They are NOT hypocrites. In order to be hypocrites, GW would have to be real...it isn't. They are just Libtards

Nothing wrong with wind power. But these Massachusetts limosine liberals want other people to have their view spoiled. NIMBY.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Ted would of wanted it this way. A wind farm in every ones back yard but his own.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I find it somewhat disturbing that some cannot express an opinion or make a statement without resorting to name-calling and insults. Surely you can find a way of expressing your point of view without resorting to such incendiary tactics? Labels like this come across as being deliberately 'baiting' for an antagonistic response and as such violate the TOS for VJ.

[SpiritAlight 1]

Word Kathryn.

As for the Cape and wind turbines, well, wind generators are not the most amazing thing invented.

They kill tons of birds (including hawks in Cali),

they resonate a deep hum and have interrupted heart rates in people who live on farms that have these nearby,

they will change the ecology of the small Cape bay.

We do need alternative and safe energy.

True.

Each one has draw backs.

It's a good time to move slowly and do more research before we humans re-create the unconscious environmental mess we did in the first place.

Yup!

[Nina~ 431]

Word Kathryn.

As for the Cape and wind turbines, well, wind generators are not the most amazing thing invented.

They kill tons of birds (including hawks in Cali),

they resonate a deep hum and have interrupted heart rates in people who live on farms that have these nearby,

they will change the ecology of the small Cape bay.

We do need alternative and safe energy.

True.

Each one has draw backs.

It's a good time to move slowly and do more research before we humans re-create the unconscious environmental mess we did in the first place.

Yup!

I wonder why... Are you talking about people with pacemakers or anybody with a heart condition?

[lostinblue 1,989]

Word Kathryn.

As for the Cape and wind turbines, well, wind generators are not the most amazing thing invented.

They kill tons of birds (including hawks in Cali),

they resonate a deep hum and have interrupted heart rates in people who live on farms that have these nearby,

they will change the ecology of the small Cape bay.

We do need alternative and safe energy.

True.

Each one has draw backs.

It's a good time to move slowly and do more research before we humans re-create the unconscious environmental mess we did in the first place.

Yup!

You did not get the message.

The US Secretary of State said the science for climate change is now “undeniable” and the world must agree a deal in the next 48 hours.

She said the US would be willing to pay into a global fund of $100 billion (£60bn) per year by 2020

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhage...lobal-fund.html

We must act NOW or we will be terminated.......

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Now! Or the 4.5 billion year old Earth with die. SAVE OUR MOTHER!!

[Anh map 2,098]

I find it somewhat disturbing that some cannot express an opinion or make a statement without resorting to name-calling and insults. Surely you can find a way of expressing your point of view without resorting to such incendiary tactics? Labels like this come across as being deliberately 'baiting' for an antagonistic response and as such violate the TOS for VJ.

What exactly do you think this entire political debate is comprised of? Incendiary speech designed to bait the opposition. The terms used in this thread are heard nightly on many political talk shows.

There is far worse printed in the local newspapers covering this neverending battle. It's only recently that the Wampanoag's have taken the spotlight as all other means of stopping the wind farm have been overcome.

Massachusetts politics at it's best. Where the brother of the former Speaker of the state legislature has his picture directly under Bin Laden's on the FBI most wanted list.

[Nagishkaw 510]

"How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right."

____Black Hawk

[Niels Bohr 72]

I'm happy if 3 billion people somehow disappears. Would make the Earth more balanced.

Now! Or the 4.5 billion year old Earth with die. SAVE OUR MOTHER!!

[SpiritAlight 1]

I wonder why... Are you talking about people with pacemakers or anybody with a heart condition?

I heard a report about it either on CBC radio or NPR I forget quite some time ago.

I'll try and remember to research that info and post a link.

It had nothing to do with "weak" hearts.

There's a hum and vibration that changes how people feel...it has made them ill.

That's all I remember.

Imagine this:

think about how it would feel to be vibrating all the time and hearing/feeling a deep (low frequency) buzzing/whirring sound.

(I have braced myself for some feedback on this one. Hahaha!)

[SpiritAlight 1]

You did not get the message.

The US Secretary of State said the science for climate change is now “undeniable” and the world must agree a deal in the next 48 hours.

She said the US would be willing to pay into a global fund of $100 billion (£60bn) per year by 2020

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhage...lobal-fund.html

We must act NOW or we will be terminated.......

Maybe they lost my mailing address.

Seriously, I do not get any news.

Sometimes for months.

I looked here lately to see what's going on in the world.

Nuts, huh?

And well, I follow the links and read up on stuff that catches my attention.

Thanks all.