Not only did the award-winning Cape Sea Grille offer a delicious dinner and exceptional service, but owners Jen and Doug Ramler also reached out to other local businesses which supported the fundraiser with donations of food and wine, including Ed and Susan Ring of Ring Brothers Produce, Dave Carnes of Chatham Fish & Lobster, Matt O’Brien of William & Co., Matt Schultz of Classic Wines (Martignetti Company), Lynne Barnard of Horizon Beverage, Don Mitchell of Ideal Wine & Spirits, Carol Bosch of MS Walker and Anne Morello of United Liquors (Martignetti Company).

It was a great evening in support of a great cause. With strong business support, the Harwich Conservation Trust and other land trusts across the Cape are able to save land that protects water resources, walking trails, scenic views, wildlife habitat and other natural elements, all of which define our unique sense of place, hold us here, and draw countless visitors. Thank you Cape Sea Grille and the many generous businesses that support nonprofits. Here’s to a prosperous summer season for all.

HARWICH — The Harwich Conservation Trust has received two land donations in the Grassy Pond/Saquatucket Harbor Watershed. The land donations help to protect the water quality of Grassy Pond and a potential vernal pool.

Harwich Conservation Trust Executive Director Michael Lach cited the importance of the land donations while also praising a new state income tax credit program providing additional benefits to landowners wishing to protect and preserve the environment. Lach said anyone looking to learn more about federal income tax reductions and the state income tax credit for land conservation can attend a workshop for landowners on Saturday, April 13 at 9:30 a.m. at the community center.

The trust received a land donation from Andrea Aldrovandi behind her home on Grist Mill Lane. Lach said her mother, Marcia Iddles, always wanted the woods permanently preserved and those wishes have been fulfilled with the donation to HCT.

“Marcia Iddles, my mother, was a staunch advocate for Cape Cod’s dwindling open space long before it became a popular, mainstream notion. She lived plainly and simply; in quiet rebellion during a time of belief in environmental inexhaustability. This resulted in her harmonious existence with the Earth and its natural processes,” Aldrovandi said.

Iddles purchased two parcels in the 1960s, not for resale or profit but with the intention of doing her part, “no matter how infinitesimal in the eyes of others, to preserve it for Cape Cod.” She wanted to provide a place where animals driven from their homes by development would have a place to live, her daughter said.

“I am happy the Harwich Conservation Trust will now be the steward of this small piece of the world. And I am confident that they will ensure it stays as my mum wanted it to be: protected and preserved for the years to come,” Aldrovandi said.

Just across Bank Street, Lach said, Richard Tichnor and Jennifer Smith made the decision to preserve four acres of wetland by donating the land to HCT. The wetland is situated in the watershed to Grassy Pond, which flows down Cold Brook through the trust’s Bank Street Bog Natural Preserve into Saquatucket Harbor and out to Nantucket Sound. The land also connects town-owned land to the north and south. Both land donations took advantage of the new state income tax credit program, Lach said.

“Andrea, Richard and Jennifer not only helped to protect groundwater flowing to Saquatucket Harbor, they also helped to protect the wildlife of their neighborhood,” the HCT executive director said. “These land donations

help to protect the water quality of Grassy Pond and a potential vernal pool. The upland surrounding a vernal pool harbors the amphibians that need the pool for survival. In April, wood frogs and spotted salamanders migrate from their woodland burrows to lay eggs in vernal pools.”

Lach pointed out even though state and local wetland regulations help protect a 50-foot buffer around wetlands, vernal pools can be dry most of the year and therefore can slip beneath the protective regulatory radar. He said amphibians can also migrate beyond the 50-foot buffer, often hundreds of feet into woodlands where no legal protection exists unless the land is preserved.

Outright donation, also called fee simple donation, of land to a nonprofit land trust is one of the simplest ways to protect land. The donor can potentially receive a federal income tax deduction for the value of the gift against 30 percent of adjusted gross income for up to six years. The donor needs an appraisal when the claimed value of the deduction is more than $5,000. The donor also no longer has to worry about local property tax or liability, Lach said.

The HCT executive director also said landowners can benefit from the state’s new income tax credit. You do not need to reside in Massachusetts or even pay taxes here. If you own the land and the land qualifies, you qualify. If you are an eligible landowner, your state income tax could be eliminated for the year and the state would issue a check for the difference between the amount of that tax and $50,000, or 50 percent of the land’s appraised value, which ever is less.

“The new refundable state income tax credit is an attractive incentive for folks who are looking to preserve land and benefit tax-wise,” Lach said. “Land donations account for most of the properties preserved by land trusts across Cape Cod.”

The conservation workshop to be held in Harwich a week from Saturday is sponsored by conservation trusts from Harwich, Brewster, Orleans and Dennis. Topics of discussion include land gifts, conservation restrictions and bargain sales. Federal income tax reductions and state income tax credits for land conservation will also be highlighted.

By Jamie Balliett (HARWICH ORACLE)

Back in 1850, Harwich resident Captain Alvin Cahoon (1812-1883) was looking to supplement his fishing income.

When walking around the woods and bogs of Pleasant Lake, he noticed the bounty of wild cranberries growing and decided that he wanted to farm them on his land off Punkhorn Road.

Cahoon began gathering cranberry plants but ran into difficulties finding sufficient fresh water and the right soil conditions to get them to thrive. To get an abundant supply of water, he decided to dig a five-foot wide by 500-foot long canal between Seymour’s Pond and Hinckley’s Pond.

Ridiculed by neighbors who rejected his offers to share the cost (and ultimately, the water flow), Cahoon financed the two-year project using a handful of family members and hired workers armed with axes, shovels, and wheel barrels. When the canal was completed in 1853, those in dissent recognized Cahoon’s success and reimbursed him for much of his costs.

The canal was key to the success of multiple cranberry farms in the area and a 1.4-acre parcel that fronts it is being given by Harwich resident Donald T. Bates, Jr. to the Harwich Conservation Trust.

A native Cape Codder whose father established the Bates Hardware Store on Main Street, Bates’ ties to the community run deep, whether he’s participating as a Water Commissioner or a high school track coach.

“My father used to run a bog right here, although it’s hard to see because it’s now overgrown. The canal was essential to its success,” he said.

Harwich Conservation Trust Director Michael Lach said the organization is very grateful for the land gift, especially because it’s, “Another piece of the puzzle for protecting Harwich.”

“This historic land is not attached to another parcel we own, but it’s an extremely important and a welcome addition to the Trust,” said Lach.

Bates, whose current home sits on a hill just a hundred feet off the canal, said that he spent his childhood running up and down the terrain and the preservation of the area meant a lot to him.

“I’ve spent a lot of time working to keep it open and passable,” said Bates, who pointed out a pair of ducks swimming in the waterway, which is a foot deep at the most. While the canal is man-made, numerous species have thrived in the shortcut between the two ponds, including river otters, eels, and herring.

“Just this August it was bone dry due to the low flow. We were really concerned because that’s when the herring fry come down to head out to the ocean,” he said.

Luckily, the water was restored after a blockage of accumulated sediment was discovered and cleaned out.

While a moratorium exists on the removal of herring, Bates recalled the canal, “Thick with them in the 1960s. People would gather them in nets and take them out of here in barrels and plow them, still wriggling, into their soil beds for summer crops.”

Bates bought the parcel in the 1980s for around $1,500. No houses could be built on it because of the adjacent wetlands.

The land also has a small frontage along Seymour Pond. Lach noted that, “The Harwich Conservation Trust is grateful for the Don’s forward-thinking action to protect the land, water and wildlife.”

Lach explained that the Trust runs a program called the Priority Ponds Project, which includes both Hinckley and Seymour Ponds.

“The goal of HCT’s Priority Ponds Project is to preserve watershed lands that specifically protect pond water quality and habitat. So far, through this project, HCT has helped individuals and families preserve 105 acres with 5,850 feet of shoreline across eight different ponds,” he said.

The canal will need to be maintained, which includes cutting any woody vegetation or trees back and removing sediment. A crew led by the Harbormaster Office does an annual spring cleanup to make sure the herring and other species have safe passage.

Punkhorn Road crosses the canal at a low point. Bates noted that the original stone culvert built by the Cahoon family is still in place to allow fish and wildlife to travel under the road.

“That’s the original and was built to last,” he said of the 160-year-old structure.

Kevin Minnigerode said it takes a certain personality to be a beekeeper.

“You have to be calm, patient, and observant – but most of all very careful,” said the 62-year-old from Marstons Mills who worked over the last two years as a volunteer with the Harwich Conservation Trust tending to beehives at the Bank Street Bogs.

The retired U.S. Air Force navigator who took up beekeeping in 2008 said that the two HCT hiveswere incredibly productive this past summer and fall, netting a bounty of over five gallons of honey.

“It was truly amazing to see how much there was. When my wife and I loaded it into our trunk we were just in awe,” he said.

After taking a dozen or sohalf-pint containers for himself, Minnigerodedelivered the rest ofthe honey to the Trust.

“Kevin suggested that the honey could help us raise funds for our land-saving work. We’ve raised about $700 with 70 half-pint jars of honey at $10 each and we sold out in three weeks. It was funny because he said with a chuckle that each jar should really cost more like $150 because of the amount of time and energy he’s invested,” said HCT Director MichaelLach.

When asked why the hives were so productive, Minnigerode said that there was a confluence of factors. The weather was good all summer – warm with plentiful rain,translating into lots of flowers. There were just a few storms and the bog – which includes some 66 acres of rich wetland habitat – is excellent for bees.

According to an environmental study funded by HCT, the bog itself has at least 278 different plant species – which means a lot of flowers.

“Just imagine if you have to go to the store to get your groceries and it’s a long drive away, you have to exert all that energy traveling. Here, it is just a few feet from the hive to water sources and abundant flowers so it’s easier on the hive,” he said.

Beehives across the country are suffering from a population crisis known as colony collapse disorder. Scientists have concluded that factors related to climate change, powerfulviruses, and pesticides are likely what has caused CCD. Minnigerode has seen this occur with some of his hives.

“It doesn’t take very much, just one application of pesticides in a nearby area and the whole hive can crash,” he said.

2011 was the first year HCT and Minnigerode set up three hives at the Bogs but they were not productive, mostly due to strong storms that led to an invasion of wasps.

“We couldn’t do anything – it happened fast,” he said.

To try and educate the community about the hives, Minnigerodehas led a number of ‘Honey Bee Hikes’ for the HCT through the Bogs.

“I had from two to twenty-five participants and enjoyed explaining the life of a hive and the hard work that leads to honey production,” he said.

This past summer, the bee population took off at the two remaining hives. What started as a few thousand bees in May at just one hive ended up with an estimated 70,000 bees byAugust.

“It was really good queens. The worker bees have a four to five week lifespan, in which they move from job to job until their wings finally wear out and they die, literally from exhaustion,” Minnigerode described.

Because the long drive from Marstons Mills takes so much time, Minnigerode and the HCT are working together to find a new beekeeper for the bogs this coming summer.

Lach called Minnigerode, “Super knowledgeable about bee behavior and the history of beekeeping.”

“Right now, we’re working on recruiting and training a replacement beekeeper because Kevin is ready to step aside, but he’s still available to advise. The 66-acre Harwich Port preserve works well for hive placement because we can keep them at a distance from walking trails.The side trail to the hives is roped off to avoid accidental encounters and, of course, to let the bees work undisturbed. I certainly know what “busy as a bee” means now. Hopefully, our bees will survive the winter so we can begin again in the spring,” said Lach.

Winter is the toughest time for the hive. Minnigerode said that a few thousand bees now surround the queen in a grapefruit-sized ball that’s up to 90 degrees F in the center. On warmer days, most of the bees will fly out of the hive to excrete their waste and find fresh water.

“You wouldn’t think of a honeybee flying by in the middle of January but they do. Just when the conditions are perfect,” he said.

Spotted salamanders depend on vernal pools for survival.

By William F. Galvin, originally published in The Cape Cod Chronicle –

The Harwich Conservation Trust has received a strategic land donation centrally located between three ponds the town has identified as a high priority for protection because of recent algae blooms, which signal health issues in those water bodies.

One of the recommendations contained in the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan calls for restoring the health to Hinckley’s Pond, which, along with Seymour’s Pond, has been experiencing algae blooms in recent years. Those conditions are exacerbated by development around those ponds. The town has invested a great deal of money in the restoration of Long Pond through alum treatment in recent years.

In recent years the Harwich Conservation Trust has focused efforts to preserve open space surrounding those ponds. They have been successful in obtaining a conservation restriction on 24 acres running between Hinckley’s and Seymour Pond.

Now they have a Christmas present, the donation of 1.44 acres adjacent to the 24-acre parcel running east toward Long Pond. The donation is close to Princess Brook, which connects Hinckley’s and Long Ponds, serving as a major passage into the headwaters for the Herring River herring run. All three ponds are important spawning grounds for this anadromous species.

Bonnie and Stephen Chandler recognize the importance of protecting those lands, thus adding protection to those ponds. Stephen Chandler is a former member of the town’s conservation commission, the agency charged with protecting water and wetland resources and buffer zones in Harwich. The Chandlers were in Florida on vacation and not available for comment.

“The Harwich Conservation Trust is grateful for the Chandlers’ forward-thinking action to protect land, water and wildlife,” HCT Executive Director Michael Lach said of the donation this week.

Lach called the donation the “missing piece of an open space puzzle,” citing its location between the three ponds on the west side of Route 124, protecting woodlands as well as wetland that buffer a certified vernal pool in the watershed of the three ponds.

The land serves to protect core habitat as designated by the state’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. It protects vulnerable habitat that harbors sensitive and unique species such as the spotted salamander and wood frog, Lach said.

The HCT executive director said the donation advances the trust’s Priority Ponds Project with a goal of preserving watershed lands that specifically protect pond water quality and habitat. Through this project, Lach said,

HCT has helped individuals and families preserve 105 acres with 5,700 feet of shoreline along eight different ponds.

The Chandlers took advantage of the state’s new Conservation Land Tax Credit Program when making the donation. Lach called the program “a powerful incentive for folks who are looking to preserve land and benefit tax-wise.”

He said outright donation of land to a non-profit is one of the simplest ways to protect land. The donor can potentially receive a federal income tax reduction for the value of the gift against 30 percent of adjusted gross income for up to six years.

Landowners can also benefit from the state’s new income tax credit. Lach said you do not have to live in Massachusetts or even pay taxes here to obtain that benefit. If you own the land, and the land qualifies, you qualify, he said.

If you are an eligible landowner, your state income tax could be eliminated for the year with the commonwealth issuing a check for the difference between the amount of that tax, and $50,000 or 50 percent of the land’s appraised value, which ever is less, the HCT executive director said.

HCT takes advantage of all opportunities to preserve land, including outright donations, conservation restrictions and purchasing land. Since its inception in 1988, HCT has helped to preserve hundreds of acres in the town.

Location: Bells Neck Conservation Area, west entrance to the West Reservoir

Time: 9:00am to 11:00am

Day and Date: Saturday, October 13, 2012

Rain date: Sunday, October 14, 2012

Cost: $15.00 per person

Pre-registration and payment is required.

Limited space available.

HCT has placed square bar codes at each trailhead kiosk as well as on the cover of its Trail Guide. You can scan the bar codes with a smartphone, iPad or other mobile device to download trail maps directly from HCT’s website.  If using this novel approach to navigation is new to you, no problem.  HCT’s website and Trail Guide have directions to get you started.

To learn how to download trail maps to your phone, just click the “Trails” link in the Quick Links at right and then click the link for QR-codes.  If you’re using the paper copy Trail Guide, just turn to page 24 and follow the steps to download the bar code reader application (app).

The new Trail Guide also features the paved bicycle trails that run east-west and north-south across town.  Happy Trails!

This spring, volunteer herring counters completed their fourth season watching for herring that swim and sprint up the Herring River into Hinckley’s Pond and beyond to spawn. Here are the Herring River count estimates for the last three years: 19,336 fish in 2009; 41,254 fish in 2010, and 10,466 fish in 2011. The 2012 data is still being processed. HCT continues to partner with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association, and the Town of Harwich Department of Natural Resources to coordinate the project.

Why the low numbers last year? The spring weather was persistently cool during the 2011 run season, which may have impacted the count, or the herring decline continues unabated in the ocean or both causes compound additional impacts. Unsustainable fishing has decimated herring and land development has damaged spawning areas. The fish are resilient if habitat is protected and their life cycle is sustainably safeguarded. There is still much to be learned about estimated herring populations derived from our annual volunteer herring counts.

How does it work? Volunteers visit a specific location at regular intervals for as little as 10 minutes per day to watch how many herring pass a certain point. With the information that is collected by volunteer counters, the state documents the relative number of herring to better evaluate population health, and hopefully recover the fishery. Over time, hopefully we can restore the Herring River’s namesake species.