AMHERST — Unseasonably warm weather for mid-April brought hundreds of college-age people to Puffer’s Pond, creating a concern about individuals venturing into the still frigid water, as well as trespassing by climbing onto the nearby cliff and dam.

There was also alcohol being consumed by some on shore, even though both alcohol and tobacco are prohibited from the recreational site.

With the spring semester at the University of Massachusetts extended this year due to an extended winter session, and the possibility that students will be in town during more periods conducive to using Puffer’s Pond as a place to cool off, Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that he gets nervous about such activity happening before summer.

“My biggest fear is people trying to swim when it’s very hot out and the water is still very cold,” Bockelman said.

He reflects on the May 2018 drowning of a 21-year-old UMass student, also taking place at a time before the water had a chance to warm up.

The pond has no lifeguards, but there are caretakers from the town’s conservation staff.

While some of those there earlier this month had to be warned off areas where they were trespassing, including the cliff that some were diving from, Bockelman said most of those present opted against submerging themselves, choosing to dip their toes or wade into the cold water.

Police responded to the North Amherst site, though they were also busy with other priority calls, including two domestic calls, Bockelman said. Teams from the town’s Community Responders for Equity, Safety & Service were assigned to the location once the crowds were observed.

Conservation staff was advised to install more signs warning that people can be issued $300 fines for violating the town’s open container bylaw.

A number of vehicles were also ticketed and towed for being illegally parked. The town has tried to get a handle on the sometimes big crowds by limiting parking along State Street.

Three years ago, during the height of the pandemic, the town was able to direct more personnel to Puffer’s Pond to keep people safe, understanding that it was one of the few outlets at the time to offer some normalcy. But people who run summer camps and other recreational programs, parking enforcement officers and senior services employees are all back to their traditional jobs.

Fortunately for the town, the situation didn’t turn as ugly as it did on Patriot’s Day in April 2012, when the warm weather also drew a number of people and left the beach “like a garbage truck exploded,” as one resident put it, requiring 40 bags of trash to be cleared and people spending the next day removing beer cans and bottles, food containers and towels strewn about.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>