71 



further north, and a 9.5 ha bed grows across the channel north of Little 

 Spectacle Island. 



A 10 April 1962 series of photographs are remarkable in that 

 eelgrass is nearly absent from all parts of the bay, including the deep 

 perennial beds that are visible on the early spring 1954 and 1956 

 photographs. The only perennial vegetation near the mouth are beds 

 along the deepest parts of the main channel walls. Some small patches 

 occur in shallow water around the bay, and the largest of these were 

 several <0.5 ha beds around Great Island in the West Branch. The likely 

 cause of this decline was the September 1960 hurricane, and ice scouring 

 and a blizzard in 1961. These storms also caused shoal movement near 

 the mouth, and further enlarged the channel across Whites Flat. 



A September 1969 image has too much cloud cover to observe fine 

 detail, but eelgrass is abundant north of Bailey Flat and appears to 

 extend in the West Branch to Judy Island and in the East of Great 

 Island. In November 1979, eelgrass distribution is abundant in the main 

 channel at the bottom of the east branch, and some patches extend north 

 at least to Sanford Flat in the West branch and Great Island in the East 

 Branch. Vegetation is sparse in both Branches, but this could be due to 

 severe ice scour in 1977, and a blizzard with exceptional tides and 

 winds in 1978. A June 1982 photograph of the West Branch shows that 

 eelgrass remains sparse throughout the upper limits of the estuary, even 

 though there was no recent disturbance. Since 1985, eelgrass has 

 expanded greatly in the lower end of each Branch of the Westport River, 

 but has not extended further north into the estuary. 



