b"C H A P T E R FI VEThat moment came in August 94. In an important preliminary, Northeast Region chief John DeVillars of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency came to town to look at the inner workings of the harbor management document. He was impressed with what he saw, according to The Chronicle.In his view, Chatham had a perfect right to consider itself as first among all Massachusetts towns to come up with such a plan; Boston had already finished its plan, but that was a vastly different order of magnitude. What DeVillars found to be incredible was that half the money to do Chathams management scheme had to come from private sources -from FCWIn hard fact, by that point in a process that seldom got out of firstChathams Stage Harbor gear, Friends of Chatham WaterwaysPlan Heralded As Visionaryhad spent a total of $38,680 on theby Tim WoodCHATHAMAs the first townHarbor, Oyster River, Oyster Pond, project (including the $1,700 for print in the state to receive formal approval ofMitchell River and Mill Pondas its comprehensive harbor managementwell as a vision for the future of the plan of Stage Harbor, Chathams offi-system. Keytothatoutlookisamulti- ing the eight-page plan, word for word). cials should be ready to field a barrage ofuse harbor where commercial and rec- questions from many other communi-reational interests function side by ties, Secretary of Environmental Affairsside, as well as clean water, continued An additional $5,000 had been donatedTrudy Coxe said last Friday as she pu e tpublic access and retention of harbor pen to paper and officially signed th views and vistas, by the Shellfish Advisory Committee intwo-volume document.rtant encourage-aswe This offers a balanced vision,This is impo llaslookingtowardment to other communities that are onlysustainability, Margaret Brady, dithe early stages. now launching this effort, Coxe said atrector of the Massachusetts Coastal a brief ceremony at Old Mill Boatyard,Zone Management office, said of the which overlooks Stage Harbor.plan.Talking with DeVillars on thatof andYou really h ave a lot to be proudthat Coxe called the plan a biblea lot to teach others throughout can be referred to as a guide for coastal towns in Massachusetts, shefuture decisions, especially when is- day in August 94, FCW President Lewtold a d bout 40 p eople,__________________________________ sues of conflict apinclu ingmanymem pear.Kimball was hardly reticent about thebe h rs of the priv t ateThis is the result of group the Friends ofvisionary thinking, C athamWa er she said.I think so difficulties faced in completing the plan. ways, which was re many of you saw the sponsible for launch need to prevent haping the plan six yearshazard development It took us four years to do the plan andago andp rovidingand provide a guide funding andvolunteerso the harbor isnthelp to keep it alivedegraded. This demthree years to do the bureaucracy, Theduringc a prolongedonstrates that a vibureau ratic reviewsion can become a reperiod. ality with patience Chronicle quoted him as saying. Some w Thee Friendsand hard work. she orked on thplan inThe next step, how it seems to me there ought to be aconjunctio nH n w b ithadded,e is to impletown officials a d thement thnine actions volunteer ar or contained in the plan way to cut through the amount of workPlanning Com mittee,Trudy Coxe, Massachusetts Secretary ofrelatingtowater developing an exten quality, mooring dessive data base on theEnvironmental Affaire, signs the town'signations, and plan- Stage Harbor management plan last Friday we have to do to get this accom harbor complex at Old Mill Boatyard. (Continued on Page 12)plished. DeVillars, the representativeOn August 19,1994, the Commonwealths of Washington bureaucracy, agreed. Secretary of Environmental Affairs, So, surely, did others in the FCWTrudy Coxe, came to the Old Mill Boat camp. Yard to give formal approval to the The final step on having theHarbor Management Plan.Chatham plan get underway and on course camewas the first town in the state, other than in the afternoon of August 19. FormalBoston, to finish such a set of procedures.invitations in hand, people gathered at the Old Mill Boat Yard for a ceremony approving the two-volume document by Trudy Coxe, the Commonwealths Secretary of Environmental Affairs. It was a memorable event, and The Chronicle and the Cape Codder gave it full coverage.73"