Our View: Dr. Bob

Even though he retired two years ago, Chatham’s former natural resources director Dr. Robert Duncanson continued to offer his expertise to the town as both a consultant and volunteer. And that expertise was considerable; no one knew as much about coastal water quality, wastewater treatment and environmental issues than Dr. Bob.

 Sadly, that expertise was lost last week when Dr. Duncanson passed away suddenly at the age of 68. 

 The development of a program in which citizen volunteers collect coastal water quality data was a stroke of genius, leveraging the resources and energy of environmentally concerned residents to collect the data that led directly to the wastewater management plan. Dr. Duncanson nurtured the program, which served as a model for other towns, and used its data to convince the state to approve the wastewater plan, making Chatham the first town in the state to gain Boston’s endorsement. That early approval set the town up for grants and no-interest loans that saved taxpayers millions. 

 That’s just one of Dr. Duncanson’s legacies; see the appreciation on page 5 for more details of his career. The loss of expertise and institutional knowledge will not just be felt in Chatham, but throughout the region. We are richer for having worked with Dr. Bob, and will continue to hold his successors up to his high standards.