Thursday, February 09, 2023

The Charles River White Geese and the Big Chill

 The Charles River White Geese and the Big Chill

1. General.

2. The Visit.

3. A past freeze.

4. Summary.


1. General.

The Charles River was in the middle of a record setting deep cold for several days.

Knowing the Charles River White Geese, I knew they had a place to survive, the bay next to the Wild Area.  I have visited and gotten some photos of them AFTER THE CHILL in the Destroyed Nesting Area.

Here is a drone still of the area from “From Cambridge to Boston with the DJ Inspire 1 Drone footage,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN-OmMzvHhw, Minute 9.10.


At the top is the BU Bridge.  To the right is Memorial Drive.  Coming at an angle from the upper left is the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge.  Between the Grand Junction Railroad and the BU Bridge is the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.  Below the Grand Junction Railroad is the doomed Wild Area.  The City of Cambridge  and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation have been trying to destroy the Wild Area since at least 1985.  I have been fighting them all the way, with a lot of success.

Barely visible at the bottom are boat ramps associated with the BU Boathouse.

The bay in the Charles River to the left of the Wild Area is protected from freezing by heat which seems to stretch from the BU Boathouse.  That is where the Charles River White Geese go during the worst of weather.  Since the water is not freezing, it is quite a bit warmer than the air.


2. The Visit.

Here are two photos I took of the Charles River White Geese in the Destroyed Nesting Area after the Big Chill.



Both photos show the Grand Junction Railroad on top of the hill.  The second also includes the Charles River.  The Charles River still included a lot of ice sheets.

Here is a photo of the bay next to the Wild Area.  The shot was through the Wild Area from the edge of the Grand Junction Railroad.  This photo was taken during the same visit.


The continuing ice sheet is still visible along with unfrozen water in which the Charles River White Geese obtained protection from the extreme cold.


3. A past freeze.

Here is a photo of the Charles River White Geese in the bay during a prior deep freeze.


The white figures are the Charles River White Geese.  The boat docks from the BU Boathouse are visible.  Even on my visit, the free water was quite a bit smaller this time.


4. Summary.

In my most recent post, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/animal-abuse-starving-continues-and.html, I provided a summary slide which led my detailed complaint to the Cambridge City Council by demanding that the Massachusetts Department on Conservation and Recreation be replaced on the Charles River by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation because of the destructiveness and incompetence of the DCR.

These photos show the vile behavior of the DCR.  Since 2008 or so when Cambridge and the DCR started poisoning and blocking access from the Charles River to the playing fields at Magazine Beach, deliberate starvation, the Destroyed Nesting Area has been the ghetto to which the Charles River White Geese have been confined.  The Destroyed Nesting Area was lush with vegetation.

The extreme vileness of the DCR directly and through their friends, has destroyed most of that FOOD as well, and replaced the food with dirt and crushed stone.  The mess in which the Charles River White Geese are confined WAS DELIBERATELY CREATED from lushness by the DCR.

The last report provides links to my 21 page latest summary to the Cambridge City Council of this outrage.  I am also pleased to provide PDF’s of that report, since the Cambridge files are a problem hunting through.  Please contact me at boblat@yahoo.com.

One excuse for destruction was to put a subway through the area.  That is proven the usual level of nonsense because the Cambridge supported subway alternative requires moving a commuter rail stop from next to Fenway Park to a block from the core of the Boston University Campus.  WITH MY HELP, that outrage has been defeated.  

The report includes the current state of that station, including the massive buildings which are part of that project.  The alternative Subway line WHICH WAS MY IDEA is the clear winner.  Destruction of the Wild Area rather clearly no longer has the subway as a viable excuse.  

Also in the City Council letter is my map of an alternative which I have proposed which would be a sane alternative to the Cambridge nuttiness and self-destruction.