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Historical changes in the uses of the Neponset estuary by its surrounding society

Historical changes in the uses of the Neponset estuary by its surrounding society. Todd B Duval. Pre-European contact. Laurentide ice sheet retreats ~14,000 ybp Mile-wide glacial river Clovis culture ~11,000 ybp Spear points recovered in Canton, MA Land clearing

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Historical changes in the uses of the Neponset estuary by its surrounding society

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  1. Historical changes in the uses of the Neponset estuary by its surrounding society Todd B Duval

  2. Pre-European contact • Laurentide ice sheet retreats ~14,000 ybp • Mile-wide glacial river • Clovis culture ~11,000 ybp • Spear points recovered in Canton, MA • Land clearing • Early European explorers report vast stretches of treeless, cultivated land • Massachuset tribes • Shifting agriculture (~4,000 years) • Shellfish, herring and fur trapping • “Neponset”- meaning “harvest river” or “a good fall” Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009

  3. Post-European Settlement • 1619- Trading outpost on Thompson’s Island • Smallpox reduces indigenous people • 1630- Mary and John • Dorchester founded • Land use changes • 1634- First grain mill • 1728- Paper mills • Long fight over rights to anadromous fish begin Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009 Detail of Wood’s map, 1633 Dorchester Historical Society

  4. Savin Hill, 1830 Dorchester Historical Society

  5. Industrial Age • Multiple dams • Multiple industries • Early: leather, copper, paper, gunpowder, chocolate, biscuits, nails • Later: electronics, toys, cameras • Pollutants include Cu, Pb, As, PCBs • Immigration • Urban infill • Sewage outfalls • Fowl Meadow becomes “Foul Meadow” Dorchester Historical Society Taylor 2003; Perry 2009

  6. Recreation 1890s to Present Dorchester Historical Society

  7. Post-industrial Age • Factories abandoned • Demographic shift • Suburban sprawl • Racial segregation • North of river: high poverty • South of river: wealthier, less dense • Reclamation efforts • 1972 to present • Clean Water Act • MA State laws • John Paul II Park Dorchester Historical Society Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009; MDC 2012

  8. Dorchester Historical Society

  9. Possible historical evidence of C. virginicus oyster Palmer, pers. comm. 2012

  10. References Carlisle, B.K., R.W. Tiner, M. Carullo, I.K. Huber, T. Nuerminger, C. Polzen, M. Shaffer. 2006. 100 years of estuarine marsh trends in Massachusetts (1893 to 1995): Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston MA; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley MA; University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA. Cooperative report. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. 2012. Neponset River Reservation. www.mass.gov/dcr. Accessed 10/11/2012 Michaels, S. 1999. Configuring who does what in watershed management: the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative. Policy Studies Journal 27(3):565-577 Michaels, S. 2001. Making collaborative watershed management work: the confluence of state and regional initiatives. Environmental Management 27(1):27-35 Heath, R. 1996. The converging cultures of the Neponset River estuary. Dorchester Historical Society www.dorchesteratheneum.org. Accessed 10/4/2012. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1997. NOAA’s estuarine eutrophication survey, volume 3: North Atlantic region. Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, National Ocean Service, NOAA, Silver Spring MD. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2012. Estuaries- Habitat of the Month. www.habitat.noaa.gov. Accessed 9/24/2012 Neponset River Watershed Association. 2004. Neponset River Watershed 2004 assessment report. Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA; University of Massachusetts; Urban Harbors Institute . Neponset River Watershed Association. 2006. Strategic Plan 2006-2011. Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA. Palmer, T. 2012. Personal communication. Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA. Perry, S.L. 2009. More than one river: local place-based knowledge and the political ecology of restoration and remediation along the lower Neponset River, Massachusetts. Open Access Dissertations paper 117. scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/117 Shand-Tucci, D. 1999. Built in Boston: city and suburb 1800-2000. University of Massachusetts Press. Amherst, MA Smith, K., C. Nielsen, P. Downey. 2003. Trio of experts instream habitat assessment: East Branch Neponset watershed. ESS Group, Inc. Wellesley, MA Taylor, E. 2003. Dorchester MA, town history 1630-1870. Dorchester Historical Society www.dorchesteratheneum.org. Accessed 10/4/2012.

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