31-acre Project Meets Conservation Planning Goals

March 15, 2021

How does the 31-acre Hinckleys Pond/Herring River Headwaters Preservation Project align with local and regional open space planning goals?

Preservation of this property is consistent with the following town and regional open space planning goals and objectives:

1.     Town of Harwich 2017 Open Space and Recreation Plan

  • Page 64, Goal VI: Preserve and Enhance the Following Natural Resources: Groundwater and Surface Water; Coastal Water and Adjacent Shoreline Areas; Inland and Coastal Wetlands; and Wildlife and Plant Habitats
  • Page 64, Objective 1. Maintain the overall quality and quantity of Harwich’s groundwater to ensure a sustainable supply of high-quality, minimally treated drinking water.
  • Page 65, Objective 2. Preserve and improve the ecological integrity of marine and fresh surface waters.
  • Page 66, Objective 8. Preserve, protect and enhance the quality and quantity of inland and coastal wetlands in
  • Page 67, Objective 9. Continue to prevent the loss or degradation of critical wildlife and plant habitats, minimize the impact of new development on wildlife and plant habitats, and maintain existing populations and species diversity.

2.     Barnstable County’s Regional Policy Plan

Bike on Cape Cod Trail

Bicyclist on the Cape Cod Rail Trail traveling through the property. Photo by Gerry Beetham

In July 1991, the Barnstable Assembly of Delegates, pursuant to the Cape Cod Commission Act (Chapter 716 of the Acts of 1989), adopted a Regional Policy Plan (RPP), amended in 1996, 2002 and 2009, and 2018 which states (references are to the 2018 Plan):

  • Goals organized around three systems, one of which is Natural Systems: water resources, wetland resources, wildlife, and plant habitat, and open space. These goals serve “to protect and restore the quality and function of the region’s natural environment that provides the clean water and healthy ecosystems upon which life depends” (RPP, 2018, pp. 60);
  • Water Resources Goal: “to maintain a sustainable supply of high-quality untreated drinking water and protect, preserve, or restore the ecological integrity of Cape Cod’s fresh and marine surface water resources;
  • Wildlife and Plant Habitat Goal: “to protect, preserve, or restore wildlife and plant habitat to maintain the region’s natural diversity. And objectives include: to maintain existing plant and wildlife populations and species diversity;”
  • Wetland Resource Goal: “to protect, preserve, or restore the quality and natural values and functions of inland and coastal wetlands and their buffers;”
  • Open Space Goal: “to conserve, preserve, or enhance a network of open space that contributes to the region’s natural and community resources and systems” (RPP, 2018, pp. 61).
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