After watching a TV segment on “Chronicle” about Peirce Island, my husband and I decided to take our eight-month old yellow lab to this canine-friendly spot. My first impression of this tiny island, a stone’s throw from the center of Portsmouth, was how pristine the water appeared given that it is situated in such a busy harbor. It is situated across the Piscataqua RIver from the Portsmouth Naval Base, and is home to the city’s waste water treatment plant. (Continued below)

SEE PHOTOS of Peirce Island

Having visited the public beach in New Castle last year, my expectations were that the grounds of Peirce Island might also be perfectly groomed and the views magnificent. But I thought the water surrounding the island (long connected to the mainland by a bridge) would be as turbid as the public picnic spot at Great Island. Turns out, the waters surrounding Peirce Island was so clear and calm that we let our pup play in it.

Besides the waste water treatment plant, a dog park, and a very large and well utilized public pool, the island was amazingly uncrowded and quiet. It was a delightful place to spend a few hours, walking the trails, seeing the sights, and reading the historical markers. We watched a diverse group of dogs frolic in the water and interact peacefully with one another.

Peirce Island is also a photographer’s delight. The bridges that span the Piscataqua River to Maine and the historic buildings of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard make great camera subjects. I later learned that castle like structure I photographed and believed to be a fancy hotel was once the Portsmouth Naval Prison and called the “Alcatraz of the East” because of its location on an island with strong tidal currents from which no prisoner ever escaped.

The remains of Fort Washington eluded me. These mounds of earth are completely overgrown with vegetation.  I was saddened to learn that much of Fort Washington --  which had been abandoned since the War of 1812 and last used as an Army Recreation Center by the Army’s Morale Division -- had been bulldozed when the Portsmouth Wastewater Treatment Facility was built in 1963- 1964.

I was also saddened to learn that despite the clean appearance of the water swirling around this pretty little island, it is not unaffected by urban development. Sediments from erosion, urban runoff from storm drains and sewers, chemical fertilizers used for agricultural purposes, exhaust fumes, and sewage treatment plants in need of upgrades, have impaired the ecosystem of the Great Bay Estuary and its sources.

Eelgrass, New Hampshire’s most common seagrass, is declining in great numbers due to the impairment of the water. This decline is not only a problem for fish and invertebrates that use these deep beds of seagrass as a breeding ground and for protective cover, but it is also the food of choice for the magnificent feral swans and those birds which are native to this region. Birds whose migratory paths cross our region are also put at risk due to the compromised habitat.

The decline in this critical link between marine and terrestrial environments was created by humans and can only be corrected by humans. It will be neither quick nor easy to repair. The estimated cost to clean up the water of Great Bay is staggering. But the alternative is one we can ill afford if we want to improve the quality of life for all whose habitat is within the Great Bay Estuary.

All of us who visit Peirce Island can at least take two easy steps. We can clean up whatever our pet friends deposit. And we can carry out whatever we carry in. That way we will become as good as our dogs already think we are.

Contirbuted by Deb McGrath