New Bedford, Massachusetts: A Story of Urbanization and Ecological Connections

In the commercialization of America, abundant consumable upland natural resources were wantonly squandered in pursuit of power and wealth, while along the shore, habitats were routinely destroyed by dredging of waterways and filling of wetlands and shoreline areas. The process of exploitation began along the Atlantic seaboard and continued in interior sections of the country as the nation extended its technology and commercial fervor westward. Unabated misuse of the environment and wastefulness of economies caused Carl Sauer to note in 1938 that western c,hl-ilrp had yet to learn the difference between "yield and loot." Sixty years latez pertinent lessons remain as "looting" of coastal habitats, upland forests, and fisheries now happens worldwide, with losses occurring at an accelerating pace in developing nations.' The development of New Bedford in southeastern Massachusetts (see Figure 1) offers an opportunity to study effects of commercialization on the ecological health of an estuary during the economic growth and decline of an adjacent city. New Bedford began as a farming settlement and then sequentially became involved in maritime industries, factory production, and light manufacturing, much in the way an emerging Third World country might develop today. The community enjoyed great prosperity and recognition, first as the world's leading whaling port, later as a producer of fine quality cotton textiles, and more recently, as a major commercial fishing port. Unfortunately, the city has gained notoriety in being identified as "one of the most extensive cases of environmental contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls." Construction of shoreline facilities in support of economic goals and expansion to accommodate the increased population and economic growth were significant events in New Bedford's development. In addition, the adjacent estuary was used as a receptacle for domestic and industrial wastes during the course of this development, and now the New Bedford Harbor is one of the most polluted in the nation. Devaluation of local, small-scale natural resources in favor of larger commercial opportunities available worldwide, was also a part of the expansion, as evidenced by destruction of an alewife fishery on the Acushnet River, once important to the eighteenth-century community.2