NLWC News
Vote Environment First at Special Town Meeting on November 4th!
October 27, 2025
At the upcoming Special Town Meeting on November 4th, Nantucket voters will once again consider how best to regulate short-term rentals (STRs). After years of debate, two competing proposals, Articles 1 and 2, offer very different paths forward. The Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) supports Article 2, which encourages sustainable use of island resources and provides a balanced, long-term solution.
Click Here to read the NLWC’s recommendations on the warrant articles. Click Here to read our Letter to the Editor.
Join Us and Vote Environment First! Tuesday, November 4 at 5:00 pm in the Mary P. Walker Auditorium of the Nantucket High School.
On Monday, June 29th, 2026 , the Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) in collaboration with Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey , Anderson’s Stillwater Moorings , & Nantucket Mooring s, officially began installing eelgrass-friendly moorings along our testing site in Nantucket Harbor. Installation has moved forward thanks to a generous grant from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation to support eelgrass-friendly moorings in Nantucket Harbor. Eelgrass is paramount to maintaining the health and fragile ecosystems within our harbor . Eelgrass meadows aid our water quality by filtering out runoff contaminants , removing excess nutrients , providing necessary habitats for wild bay scallops and juvenile fish species , and helping to combat environmental events like coastal erosion and storm surge . Traditional moorings utilize a mushroom anchor and a heavy chain that digs into the harbor floor. As wind, tides, and currents move boats and moorings, the chain drags on the harbor floor creating a circular scour – a place where eelgrass cannot grow. Eelgrass-friendly moorings are a type of mooring that protects eelgrass meadows while allowing us to continue using and enjoying our boats as we always have. The eelgrass-friendly moorings use a pyramid style Dormor anchor and an ecorode elastic rope replacing traditional chain and mushroom anchors. The elastic does not scour, allowing eelgrass to grow sustainably in our harbors.
As a part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Nantucket and Vineyard Wind 1 , public comments were due on the Debris Infrastructure Failure Incident Response Plan Summary on Monday June 15th. The Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) submitted a comment letter outlining the inappropriateness of providing a four page summary instead of the plan itself for the community to see, as well as deficiencies in the language provided and suggestions for improving it . That comment letter can be found here: NLWC VW1 Incident Plan Summary Comment Letter
The Massachusetts Senate recently passed S.3064 , known as the Mass Ready Act, a sweeping environmental bond bill that would invest over 3 billion dollars in climate resilience, water infrastructure, flood protection, PFAS remediation, conservation, and municipal environmental projects. Many of these investments align closely with priorities long championed by the Nantucket Land & Water Council, including funding for clean water infrastructure, climate adaptation, and the protection of natural resources. However, several amendments added to the bill during the Senate process have raised serious concerns among environmental organizations, municipalities, conservation commissions, and clean water advocates across Massachusetts. These provisions would weaken local municipal authority to protect wetlands and water resources and would disadvantage communities like ours that have adopted stronger environmental safeguards than just those required by state law.
