Buzzards Bay Coalition Begin Sampling in Quicksand Pond

PondBUZZARDS BAY – In a quiet corner of the Buzzards Bay watershed, local residents are teaming up with the Coalition to monitor the health of the Bay’s largest salt pond.

On calm summer mornings, Pam Beck grabs her kayak, slips it into the protected waters of Quicksand pond and paddles out to the sandy dunes of Goosewing Beach.

Once there, she looks for piping plovers, walks the beach and takes in the beauty of this quiet little corner of Buzzards Bay.

Tucked into the far southeastern corner of Rhode Island, Quicksand Pond is, as Beck describes it, “off the beaten path”.

It is also the largest natural salt pond on Buzzards Bay.

The pond, which spans 390 acres, is fed by two streams at the north end.

At the southern end, there is a barrier beach that, most of the time, separates the pond from Buzzards Bay.

A few times each year, a storm breaks a channel through the beach, allowing salty Bay water to flow into the pond.

But before long, sediment moving along the shore will close up the channel until the next storm comes through.

The natural disconnection and reconnection to Buzzards Bay creates a unique ecosystem in the pond that supports a range of marine and aquatic fish, as well as birds, amphibians and mammals.

As data comes in over the summer and gets reviewed over the next year, the volunteer sampling team, and the Coalition, will start to get a picture of the health of Quicksand Pond.

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