The Coast Guard is calling off its plan to remove several navigation buoys near the Vineyard and throughout the northeast following strong public pushback. 

Less than a month after closing the public comment period, the federal agency announced last week that it was suspending the plan. The proposal had been met with resistance from Vineyard boaters and their fellows from New England who worried that the measure could make navigating more treacherous in the region.

More than 3,200 comments were submitted by the public on the buoy plan, and the Coast Guard said in a statement last week that it would need to conduct further analysis on the aids to navigation. Until that is done, nothing would be changing.

“We are extremely appreciative of the public’s input on this important project, and our team’s hard work, analysis, and conclusions were reinforced by the outstanding feedback we received from our maritime stakeholders,” said Rear Adm. Michael Platt, the northeast Coast Guard district commander. “The Northeast Coast Guard District will continue to ensure a safe, secure, and efficient Maritime Transportation System. We remain focused on shaping the future of our waterways, ensuring a modern aids to navigation system, and facilitating commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility.” 

The Coast Guard maintains nearly 4,500 navigational aids across the northeast, and proposed the idea as a way to “rightsize” the number of buoys needed in the age of electronic navigation. 

Mariners, wary of digital tools failing, felt keeping buoys, especially in tough to navigate spots such as Woods Hole, was a smarter move. 

“It’s asking for trouble,” Vineyard charter fishing captain Brice Contessa told the Gazette this spring. “I think that there’s probably a lot of ways that the Coast Guard could make amendments to their budget, but I don’t think taking the buoys out of Woods Hole is one of them.”

After overwhelming criticism after an initial proposal, the Coast Guard this summer announced a new plan where it would reevaluate the buoys marked for removal. That plan suggested combining some buoys, instead of scrapping them altogether. 

Before the suspension decision by the Coast Guard, the Vineyard Sound Entranced Lighted Whistle Buoy, which is at the Western end of the sound, several buoys in Woods Hole, the Muskeget Channel Lighted Whistle Buoy and the Squash Meadow East End Bell Buoy off Oak Bluffs were all on the chopping block.