Big rainstorm pollutes NW side of Hawksnest Pond

On Friday, morning, heavy rain pummelled Harwich while I was showing Selectman Larry Ballantine around.  It was the most intense storm in over a year, and we both were soaked to the skin.  But the pond took the worst beating.

Selectman Larry Ballantine enjoys a drenching at Hawksnest.
The black material under his feet includes campfire ashes and forest debris.

Illegal ATV use at Hawksnest continues

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Off-road vehicle use is illegal everywhere in Harwich, including Hawksnest State Park.

Off-road at Hawksnest State Park, July 7.

The Power of a Pond

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden during his two-year stay in a tiny shack on the shores of the pond. It became a best-seller when his literary friends promoted it after his untimely death. As Thoreau gained a worldwide following for his environmental philosophy, the pond itself became a celebrity.

Now people are loving the pond to death. It receives 700,000 visitors a year, who come to worship Thoreau’s legacy, or just to swim in one of the few freshwater ponds near Boston.