Regarding the Gazette’s recent story about bomb removal at Long Point by the Army Corps of Engineers: there is insufficient cause to undertake this project; this $22 million in taxpayer money could be spent better elsewhere; the Army Corps is harming the dunes and ecosystem at Long Point; and the Army Corps is ignoring local wisdom and experience about how to manage these dunes.

These bomb shells have been around for 70 years and they have never hurt anyone. They are very rarely found any more, and even the military, with all its technology, has difficulty finding any. Life is filled with all sorts of risks, and if you do find a bomb shell, you should act with caution and treat it as potentially harmful. But this is no reason for the Army Corps to undertake such an expensive and ecologically destructive project.

Moreover, the Army Corps cannot even guarantee that they will leave this site any safer than it was before. I’m sure everyone reading this letter can think of better ways to spend our tax dollars.

Our community has been managing these dunes and the Tisbury Great Pond for centuries, and we know how all the pieces interrelate. Mature dunes are essential to the health of the pond, and I have no confidence that the Army Corps will restore this ecosystem properly.

For all these reasons, I want to be clear that I oppose this project.

Mal Jones
West Tisbury