The new inlet at Otis Pike Wilderness Area has demonstrated absolutely no effect on increasing tidal ranges or flooding anywhere on the bay. At the same time it appears to be clearing out the highly polluted water from the bay, giving the hope that we might avoid future algal blooms and give the bay fauna a chance to recover. Closing the inlet has been estimated to cost between $6 million and $15 million, and would likely have to be repeated in the future as a result of increasingly intense winter storms. Closing the inlet is a decision based on fear, not facts; it is expensive, harmful to the environment and will not mitigate flooding.