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The Boston Harbor Islands

A Treasure at Our Doorstep!

by Lillian Dunlap, Legislative Action Committee

Just outside the hustle and bustle of the city, minutes from downtown Boston, lie the Boston Harbor Islands. Easily accessible by ferry, these islands are a treasured local resource, providing a retreat from urban life and playing a distinct role in the area’s environmental history and progress. The Boston Harbor Islands are composed of a state park that lies within a national park. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manages the 17 island state park within the larger 34 island Boston Harbor Island National Park. Six of the 17 islands managed by the DCR are open for public use during the summer and on weekends in the spring and fall.[i]

Each of the Boston Harbor Islands has its own unique history. Initially, each of the islands were owned privately and utilized differently. During the 1970s, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) began acquiring the islands from their private owners (In 2003 Governor Mitt Romney closed the MDC and the DCR was born)[ii]. In 1996 Congress declared the islands a “national recreation area.”[iii]

The recorded history of Spectacle Island, one of the popular islands open to the public, gives an idea of the diverse use of the islands over the years. It also shows how some, like Spectacle, were mistreated by their private owners. Spectacle’s written history begins prior to 1660, when Native Americans used the island for fishing, clamming and gathering food. After 1660, colonists used the island to graze their livestock and harvest timber. Following that, between the years of 1717 and 1737, the island was home to a quarantine hospital. In 1847 a pair of hotels with casinos were built and began to thrive. They lasted for ten years, until a brothel was discovered in 1857 and police shut them down. [iv]

In addition to its colorful social history, Spectacle Island has faced a number of environmental challenges over the years. After the closing of the brothel, the island was home to a horse rendering plant that processed up to 2,000 horses annually into glue, hair, oil and bones. During the 1920s, a plant for the reclamation of garbage grease was constructed. Ten years later, in the 1930s, the city began dumping garbage on the island, a process which lasted until 1959. Following the close of the dump, Spectacle Island was little more than a giant mess, leaking eroded garbage into the surrounding harbor waters. In the 1980s, a site was needed for dirt and other materials excavated from the Central Artery Tunnel Project, otherwise known as “the Big Dig.” Spectacle Island was agreed upon as a dumping spot for the dirt and gravel, which were used to build a dike over the garbage dump, dramatically reshaping the island. An 18-inch clay cap was placed on top of the mounds, and a layer of topsoil was added so plants and trees could grow.[v]

In addition to some of the past environmental challenges faced by the Boston Harbor Islands, the islands have also combatted the constant threat of expropriation. In 2005, AES Corp. proposed the building of a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility on Outer Brewster Island, despite the fact that the island was protected against development or transfer to non-park use by Article 97 of the state Constitution.[vi] Proponents of the Outer Brewster LNG facility erroneously claimed that the proposed project would shift dangerous LNG activity offshore. However, since an existing LNG facility in Everett was owned by a competing company and was never slated for closure, this claim was quickly dismissed. Even if the new facility had been opened, onshore LNG activity would have remained. Repeated legislative attempts were made to reintroduce the park’s ‘taking’ for this commercial facility, but the state’s environmental groups and park advocates successfully fought off these efforts. Eventually, the site was rejected as a location for the facility, as it conflicted with the initial purpose for establishing the Boston Harbor Islands National Park: to protect and defend the natural resources they boasted.

A different development project that did come to fruition is the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant. Opened in the mid 1990s as a replacement for an aging and decrepit facility already on the island,[vii] the Deer Island plant represents the cornerstone of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)’s pollution protection program.[viii] The facility processes and cleans approximately 360 gallons of wastewater every day from 43 communities in the greater Boston area.[ix] The water is cleaned to meet the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department for Environmental Protection (DEP), and after processing it is pumped back into the environment.

Despite the current status of the islands as a protected area, development proposals still exist. Peddocks Island was recently put forth as an ideal location for large scale development for a variety of uses, including but not limited to, corporate retreat facilities and a chapel dedicated to public programming. Phase one of this project – installing utility systems on the island – was finished in 2002. Phase two, which includes plans to restore three historic buildings on the island, has an estimated completion date of December 2009.[x]

In addition to the Peddocks Island development, the geographic location of the Boston Harbor Islands provides ideal conditions for utilizing a number of renewable energy sources, making the islands a central point of interest in green energy development plans. Excellent sun exposure allows the Harbor Islands to take advantage of solar power. The visitor center on Spectacle Island, for example, is evidence of solar power at work. The roof is topped with photovoltaic panels that not only provide power for a collection of electric vehicles on the island, but also provide clean electricity that gets used throughout the area.[xi] The islands are also ideally situated to harvest wind energy, as they sit in an area of the harbor with high average wind speeds. There is currently a wind turbine located on the mainland at Pemberton Point in Hull. This single turbine produces enough energy each year to power 200 homes.[xii] The success of this machine has spurred debate in recent years about when and where to construct another, and the Boston Harbor Islands have been suggested as a location. However, while the utilization of green, renewable energy is of course critical, turning natural park space into commercial power facilities for non-park use is not the answer. This type of action will only lead to the reduction if not the elimination of cherished natural spaces, something that once lost can rarely be regained.

The Boston Harbor Islands are not only a tranquil escape from downtown Boston, but they have also been intertwined with environmental issues throughout the years. They have faced a plethora of challenges throughout their existence, and given their location and accessibility they are likely to face many more. In today’s world, where development is trumpeted and economic growth is front of mind, natural spaces such as the Boston Harbor Islands are often lost. Natural, undeveloped areas so easily accessible from urban centers are rare, and we must take action now to ensure their existence and health in the future.