West Falmouth Village Association - West Falmouth, Massachusetts

Our purpose is to preserve the character of the village and to work with town officials from Falmouth to meet the changing needs of West Falmouth and the greater Falmouth community including the restoration of West Falmouth Harbor.

West Falmouth Village Association
2021 ANNUAL MEETING

Meeting Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2021
6:00 p.m: Meet Your Neighbors
6:30 p.m: Meeting Begins
Location: West Falmouth Library, 575 West Falmouth Hwy.
Note: We ask that all attendees wear masks, including those who are vaccinated.

Meeting Agenda:
Brief Updates on current topics including Fire and Emergency Services, Litter Clean-up, and Road and Bike Path Safety- by WFVA Board members.

Guest Speakers:
• Jason Cullinane representing FalmouthNet, a local non-profit organization working to create a community-based fiber optic network in Falmouth.
• Gilda Brancato representing Friends of Sippewissett Marsh and Beaches, an organization of concerned neighbors of the Great Sippewissett Marsh whose mission is to help protect and sustain the marsh and beach ecosystem.

Please Join WFVA! Download membership form or fill one out at the meeting.

Annual Falmouth Spring Clean-Up

The Annual Falmouth Spring Clean-Up will take place Saturday, April 17 through Sunday, April 25, 2021.

WFVA supports this annual event, and we understand that our members may not all feel comfortable participating this spring due to the pandemic. Your safety and health are most important!! If you choose to participate, please do it safely. Remove litter from the same areas you have cleaned in the past, or contact village leaders Sue and Milt Williamson willmilt@comcast.net or Mary Ryther at info@westfalmouthvillage.org if you’d like us to suggest an area to pick-up, or if you have other questions.

Any litter collected can be added to your household trash. Recycle any items possible.

TEAM — TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE

Virtual Precinct Meeting A Success In Falmouth

By Brad Cole, Falmouth Enterprise

Approximately 100 people on Thursday last week, January 7, attended Falmouth’s first precinct meeting since November 2019. Town Meeting members and Town Moderator David T. Vieira ironed out procedural issues on Zoom before taking up the warrant, of which articles calling for a new fire truck and siting the Carousel of Light next to Shivericks Pond drew the most discussion. Before the meeting got underway Mr. Vieira conducted test votes, including a quorum count, to confirm all was working properly.

Read full article >

Recent Litter Clean-Up Efforts

Village Litter Clean-Up on October 31.
WFVA Members: Taylor, Gedney, Sellers families of West Falmouth cleaning up trash and debris from Black Beach

• WFVA held a Village Litter Clean-Up on October 31, with free Ice Cream provided by Eulinda’s.

• West Falmouth Residents also supported Litter Free Falmouth’s 1st Fall Town-wide Litter Cleanup on Sunday, December 6.

Litter was collected from roadsides, beaches and conservation lands in West Falmouth and throughout the town. Over 175 members of the community participated. Some obtained free litter grabbing sticks and T-shirts from the Keep Massachusetts Beautiful website. Others purchased grabbers from local hardware stores and online.

• “Litter Free Falmouth” Plans Additional Clean-Ups

Litter Free Falmouth hosted a community-wide discussion (via Zoom) of the path forward to achieve a litter free Falmouth on Thursday, January 21.
Read the article in the Falmouth Enterprise >

• Falmouth Adopt-A-Highway group recently initiated stewardship of Route 28

(between Thomas Landers Road and Route 151) and is seeking new members who want to help. Anyone wishing to join the highway adoption team can email Alan Robinson at amrobinson101@gmail.com

West Falmouth Fire Station Closure Announced

In a public meeting on October 17, 2019, residents gathered at West Falmouth Library to hear the results of a Town-sponsored study on the proposed location for a proposed Combined North-West Fire Station.

Attendees were surprised to learn that the West Falmouth Fire Station would be closed permanently on July 1, 2020.

Community Action
Saving the W.F. Fire Station and Ensuring Rapid Emergency Response Times in West Falmouth ...and ALL of Falmouth.

"Citizens for Rapid Response" (CR2) A small group of West Falmouth residents including members of WFVA Board, former Fire-Fighter & EMTs, and Town Meeting & Town Board members are working on a plan to prevent the impending closure of West Falmouth Fire Station until such time that a new Fire Station serving the area is built.

Learn more >

Falmouth Shellfish Propagation Slides

Recreational Shellfish Survey Falmouth, MA
View the Recreational Shellfishing Survey Slides

View the Falmouth Shellfish Overview Slides

View the Restoration of West Falmouth Harbor Slides

'Restoration Of West Falmouth Harbor' Event Leaves Residents With Hope, Challenges

By Claudia Geib, The Falmouth Enterprise

"...In the mid-1990s, scientists began seeing nitrogen levels spike in waters around West Falmouth—and with it, increased algae growth, along with sharply declining shellfish health, eelgrass coverage, and water quality. To this day, groundwater sampled around West Falmouth Harbor still has very high nitrogen levels."
Read the full article >

BAY HEALTH, West Falmouth Harbor

See how healthy your water is by visiting Buzzards Bay Coalition's website.

Read more >

Read the status report about nitrogen-reducing
in the West Falmouth Harbor.

West Falmouth Harbor Restoration

West Falmouth Harbor Restoration Feasibility Study
Prepared by:
Cape Cod Conservation District

Hydraulic Modeling and Culvert Size Analysis,
West Falmouth Harbor, West Falmouth, MA
Prepared by:
Woods Hole Group

> Please read the details about requesting to post
information on the WFVA website



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Buzzards Bay Coalition

Buzzards Bay needs your help today.

The state budget has left out critical funding for protecting clean water in your community. This funding supports water quality monitoring across southeastern Massachusetts including the Coalition’s Baywatchers program.

Your voice can make a difference.

Tell Senate President Rosenberg and your senator to support budget amendment 226 to restore water quality monitoring funding for Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay.

Contact Senator Rosenberg now by calling (617) 722-1500 and emailing stan.rosenberg@masenate.gov.

Contact our Senator, Vinnie deMacedo, by calling 508-747-6500 and emailing vinny.deMacedo@masenate.gov.

Read the Buzzards Bay Coalition article about the West Falmouth demonstration project reducing nitrogen pollution from 20 septic systems by 78%.

For 23 years, the Baywatchers program has monitored the health of your local waterways. And that research has led to action. On Cape Cod, a major clean water planning process is almost complete and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just launched a program to reduce nitrogen pollution.

The Baywatchers program is more important than ever. Tell the Senate to support budget amendment 226 to protect clean water in your community today.

Cape Cod Times reports the Coalition finds 'pause' in Buzzards Bay nitrogen pollution

Latest State of Buzzards Bay score reflects encouraging pause in decline of local waters

West Falmouth Harbor protection advances with conservation of 10 acres of coastal lands

Buzzards Bay Guardian Award

The Guardian Award was given to the West Falmouth Boat Club from the Coalition for Buzzards Bay. A beautifully carved scallop shell award created by New Bedford artist John Magnan from pine driftwood collected on Cuttyhunk sits on the mantel in the WF Library.

The Guardian Award is the “highest honor from the Coalition and is given for outstanding service in the clean-up, restoration, or protection of Buzzards Bay.” It honors “the unsung hero or heroine who deserves public recognition, not only for what they have achieved, but also to inspire others to make a difference.”

Please stop by the West Falmouth Library to read the complete award information on the bottom of the shell. John Magnan’s studio is located in the Waterfront Historic District of New Bedford.

Falmouth Healthy Lawns

What you need to know about Falmouth’s Nitrogen Control Bylaw for Fertilizer:

Falmouth adopted this Bylaw to reduce the nitrogen pollution going into our estuaries. The Bylaw applies to nitrogen used to fertilize grass only. The Bylaw does not apply to fertilizer used on your flower and vegetable garden, greenhouse, houseplants, farm, or orchard. The Bylaw also does not apply to the establishment or repair of turf (after substantial damage) in its first growing season.

Prohibitions:
•  Don’t fertilize any part of your lawn between October 16th and April 14th, or directly before or during a heavy rain event. Don’t spread fertilizer on paved surfaces and clean it up if you do.

•  Don’t fertilize any lawn located within 100 feet of wetlands - specifically the Resource Areas as defined in Falmouth’s Wetlands Regulations, FWR 10.02 (1)(a - d).

•  The Bylaw recommends that if you fertilize lawns not covered by the 100’ prohibition, fertilize sparingly! The Bylaw encourages use of materials such as yard waste, compost or other similar materials that are primarily organic in nature and that are not considered “fertilizer” to improve the physical condition of your soil.

Read more in the Healthy Lawns PDF.

West Falmouth beach protected forever with conservation restriction

The generosity of the Shearer family is shown through a remarkable gift of a conservation restriction co-held by the Buzzards Bay Coalition and The 300 Committee Land Trust.
Near Chapoquoit Beach in West Falmouth lies a special stretch of beach and coastal habitat. Tall dunes rise up over the shore, protecting a community of plants and shrubs sandwiched between West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay.
View photos of this unique coastal habitat that is now protected forever.

West Falmouth Dock Rebuild

This West Falmouth PINK GRANITE boulder (sourced locally)
is a fitting cap stone for the project.

West Falmouth Harbor Eelgrass Study

By Brittany Feldott, The Falmouth Enterprise

"A recent study shows that eelgrass in parts of West Falmouth Harbor is growing relatively healthily, but Philip Colarusso of the US Environmental Protection Agency said last week that it could take between six and 17 years before eelgrass beds fully recover."
Read more >

Retreat for ALS Patients, Families, and Caregivers Planned

By Andrea Carter, The Falmouth Enterprise

"Construction of the Compassionate Care ALS Education and Retreat Center in West Falmouth, formerly Beach Rose Inn, began in November."
Read more >

Falmouth Receives State Funding to Replenish Chapoquoit Beach

By Carrie L. Gentile, The Falmouth Enterprise

"Falmouth has been awarded $120,000 from the state to replenish Chapoquoit Beach and adjacent dunes with sand dredged from the Cape Cod Canal."
Read more >

Historic WF Livestock Pound

By Amanda Haines, The Falmouth Enterprise

"Hidden behind brambles and trees at 825 West Falmouth Highway are some rocks that are steeped in colonial history. And, quite accidentally, when an Eversource crew dislodged a few of the stones during routine maintenance, they uncovered a little-known historic gem. The rocks are what remain of the West Falmouth Pound, a livestock shelter that is mentioned in the National Register of Historic Places (as part of the West Falmouth historical district) and protected by a preservation restriction."
Read the article >

Chapoquoit Beach Restoration - Feasibility Study

From the June 28th public meeting
Click to view the presentation PDF from June 28

From the June 1st public meeting
Click to view the presentation PDF from June 1