Author: Webmaster

Courtesy of Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) The Town of Sharon sits at the headwaters of the Neponset and Taunton Watersheds, and supplies all of its own public drinking water from local sources. Sharon is looking ahead to substantial residential and commercial growth over the next few years. As we’re well familiar, with new growth comes demand for more water, as well as the prospect […]

Courtesy of the Mass Audubon Society’s Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. Used with permission. Opossums are very adaptable and will live wherever they can meet their habitat requirements. The opossum has a face that is hard to forget—it features a pointy nose that sports a mouth filled with 50 sharp teeth. They are about the size of a house cat with gray to black fur and […]

By Kurt Buermann I think when we walk or hike, our usual habit is to look from side to side, or at the ground. Less frequently do we gaze upwards. Some time ago, I was fortunate to spot a great horned owl. I would never have seen it except for a couple of red-winged blackbirds who were making a commotion around its head hoping to […]

By Paul Lauenstein & Kurt Buermann The freshwater mussel provides a good example of the interrelationships that go on “behind the scenes” in nature. Mussels live for a surprisingly long time—some as long as half a century. Their age can be estimated by counting shell ridges, much as we can tell the age of trees from growth rings. To reproduce, freshwater mussels depend on fish. […]

By Paul Lauenstein A clear stream flows into Lake Massapoag. It’s called Sucker Brook. You can find it on Massapoag Ave. right beside the arch leading to the community center. One sunny afternoon in mid-April I stopped by Sucker Brook and witnessed the annual spawning migration of white suckers. Adult white suckers are fish about a foot and a half long, weighing two or three […]

Contributed by Kurt Buermann Mephitis mephitis. The scientific name for the striped skunk means “noxious vapors.” Twice! The armory of the common striped skunk gives it the security and peace of mind to roam freely and unmolested. The wildlife observer may even spot them without leaving the yard. Being an omnivore, the skunk is ideally adapted to a suburban environment. It roams about a mile […]

The Sharon Soccer Association has proposed an additional soccer field to be built on town-owned land in Sharon Woods across the street from the existing soccer fields for the purpose of scheduling flexibility. It is important to be aware of what will be lost, as well as what will be gained, before deciding which way to vote on this matter.   Read more: save_habitat

by Diane Langley If you live in Sharon or anywhere in Southeastern Massachusetts, you may have heard of “Cape Wind,” but you may not be familiar with its details or with the controversy it has engendered. Cape Wind is a “wind park” of 130 giant windmills, or wind turbines, proposed for Horseshoe Shoal, an area of shallow water in Nantucket Sound. Each wind turbine will […]

The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp west of Lake Massapoag lies atop Sharon’s largest and deepest aquifer. Over the millennia, decaying vegetation from the cedars has created a layer of peat up to six feet thick called Freetown muck, which is one of nature’s best water purifiers. The white cedar swamp covers an area of over 600 acres. It accumulates and purifies rainwater, which then seeps […]