Eco-Restoration Journey Week 10: The power of partnerships

Sure, excavators and dump trucks are mighty tools, but the real power behind eco-restoration projects is partnerships.

From conception to completion, a team of skilled, motivated folks and organizations are essential to a successful effort. It’s a complex blend, where vision, consensus, design and construction all play important roles.

And, not surprisingly, funding is also a huge part of the package, and that’s where partnerships truly shine. For Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project, it all began when generous HCT donors funded the initial purchase of a 31-acre retired bog area from the Jenkins family in 2021. If not preserved, the upland along Headwaters Drive could have been converted into a subdivision impacting pond health and altering the scenic views enjoyed from Rt. 124 and the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

These visionary land-saving donations were the catalyst for the eco-restoration effort, which includes the rewilding two retired bog sites into thriving wetlands that bookend 174-acre Hinckleys Pond in Harwich. Hinckleys Pond, a herring spawning pond, is at the headwaters of the Herring River estuary and immediately downstream of additional spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.

Valued partners come aboard

The eco-restoration project was funded by HCT donors, the Brown family, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed grant, EPA National Estuary Program Coastal Watershed grant under cooperative agreement with Restore America’s Estuaries, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation MassTrails grant, foundation funds through the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, and a Transformational Habitat Restoration & Coastal Resilience grant through the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

On a recent site visit to HCT’s ongoing Hinckleys Pond project, we had the chance to speak with Tom Ardito, SNEP Watershed Implementation Grant Program Director for Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE). HCT was the recipient of a $146,700 SNEP grant for data collection, design and permitting for the Hinckleys Pond project.

Tom Ardito, Southeast New England Program Watershed Implementation Grant Program Director for Restore America’s Estuaries (center), with Tom Evans, President of the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) Board of Trustees (left) and Mike Lach, HCT Executive Director (right) at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project site. Harwich Conservation Trust photo

Over the years, SNEP’s Watershed Implementation Grants have provided funding for important projects around Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

These projects include: In 2020, the Pleasant Bay Alliance received a $132,178 grant to support a nitrogen management partnership among the towns of Chatham, Orleans, Harwich and Brewster to implement innovative solutions to reduce pollution and ensure clean water for residents and visitors to Cape Cod.

In 2021, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod received a  $148,871 grant to support a regional assessment of public boat ramps in the SNEP region of Cape Cod to identify and prioritize sites for green infrastructure stormwater management.

And in 2020, the University of Rhode Island received a  $301,289 grant to support data analysis and management for real-time water quality monitoring in Mt. Hope Bay (R.I.), Narragansett Bay’s largest sub-estuary.

Hinckleys Pond project offers ‘multiple benefits’

Ardito was asked why the Hinckleys Pond eco-restoration project was a good fit for the grant.

“We really love projects that have multiple benefits,” he said. “A project like this is a really good example, because this restoration will help improve water quality in both freshwater and eventually saltwater systems. It helps with healthy ecosystems because it’s improving wildlife habitat. And it helps with sustainable communities because it’s providing recreational and aesthetic benefits, as well as significant economic benefits.”

The economic benefits of a healthy ecosystem are easy to see on Cape Cod, said Ardito. “People come to the Cape for the water and natural resources,” he said. “The tourism industry is largely driven by environmental quality.”

Estuary regions: popular but threatened

Estuary regions across the country, like those found on Cape Cod, are economic juggernauts. But their popularity can threaten their existence. Ardito pointed to a 2021 RAE report “The Economic Value of America’s Estuaries,” which describes the challenges faced by estuary regions around the country. Here’s a passage from the executive summary which describes the challenges faced by estuary regions around the United States:

“With 37% of the population on just 4% of the land, the concentration of people, as year-round or seasonal residents or as employees in the estuary regions, helps drive the national economy.  But that same concentration puts enormous pressure on the natural and environmental resources of the estuaries, manifested in loss of wetlands, degraded water quality, and impaired access for economic uses such as recreation and fishing.”

Efforts like HCT’s Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project are vital to protecting and restoring these beautiful places that hold so much natural and economic value. It’s nice to think that increased biodiversity and increased prosperity are on the same team.

Ardito also finds the power of partnerships to be personally enriching, a sentiment that seems universal among those who work on these important eco-restoration projects. “I love it, because every day I get to work with people who are serious about making the world a better place, and are effective at doing that,” he said.

Project refresher

By the late 1990s, much larger off-Cape bogs were producing an extra supply of cranberries that caused the price to fall. This shift in the industry made it more difficult for some local growers to continue farming, so they’re faced with a choice: develop the upland or preserve  Over the years, as a way to earn income from their land while also protecting natural resources, several local farmers have sold their properties to HCT. This partnership has set the stage for innovative eco-restoration.

In addition to revitalizing wetland habitat that can help pond health, the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project also seeks to restore the natural shoreline of Hinckleys Pond. The Brown family, who owns a retired bog on the other side of the pond, is also partnering with HCT on the project. The partnership eco-effort aims to increase biodiversity, restore wildlife habitats and enhance recreational opportunities including a mile of wheelchair accessible All Persons Trail.