Eco-Restoration Journey Week 22: How vistas come into focus

If a beautiful conservation area was a cake, then a fine vista would be the frosting. A big view kind of seals the deal, like the finale of an outdoor symphony.

And judging from recent progress at Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project, we are going to be in for a treat when the property reopens later this year.

The new overlook area on Hinckleys Pond is nearing completion, under the watchful eyes of Jeremy Sanders, Project Foreman for SumCo Eco-Contracting (left) and Nick Nelson, Senior Geomorphologist and Northeast Regional Director for Inter-Fluve.

An intriguing aspect of the project involved the removal of a derelict pump house that was moldering on the shore of Hinckleys Pond. In its place, a spectacular overlook area is well on its way to completion. If you like peaceful water views, this special spot is sure to become one of your new favorites.

At this week’s site visit, Mike Lundsted, Project Manager for SumCo Eco-Contracting reported that the fence around the overlook area had been completed and two new benches had been installed. The overlook area has a stabilized stone dust surface, ensuring secure footing for pond viewers.

The stabilized stone dust is the same surface that was used in the construction of the new one-mile All Persons Trail at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve, which will provide access to nature for people of all abilities.

A carefully considered connection to the Cape Cod Rail Trail

Most of the Preserve is located on the west side of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, with the overlook area on the east side of the bike trail, next to Hinckleys Pond. A gently sloped ramp will lead visitors from the main part of the Preserve to a painted crosswalk that will span the bike trail. Signage along the Cape Cod Rail Trail will inform bike trail users that a crosswalk is ahead.

Another gently sloped ramp on the east side of the bike trail will descend to the overlook area on the pond. The ramps and All Persons Trail aren’t intended for bicycles, so Cape Cod Rail Trail users will be able to park their bikes at a handy bike rack and then make their way down the ramps to explore the overlook or the All Persons Trail at the Preserve.

People of all physical abilities and families that have youngsters in strollers will be able to easily navigate the new ramps to enjoy the rewilded scenic vista.

The design behind the view

We wondered how vista design factored into eco-restoration projects, so we turned to the affable and knowledgeable Nick Nelson, Senior Geomorphologist and Northeast Regional Director for Inter-Fluve. Nelson has played a huge role in the vision for the Hinckleys Pond effort.

“It depends on the project and the partners, ” said Nelson. “But for many of our projects, we have some sort of recreational component that can include vistas. More and more projects seem to be like this one.”

Work is progressing nicely on the boardwalk at Harwich Conservation Trust’s Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project. 

Nelson said the two biggest considerations for creating vistas were elevation and visitor experience. “In some cases, you might be interested in being up a little bit higher and seeing a view,” he said. “In other cases, you may want to be immersed in the wetland. In that case, your boardwalk might be close to the surface.”

Visitors to the Preserve will also be able to experience that “down low” vibe as they cross a boardwalk above the wetland, which is also nearing completion.

Other vista considerations center on whether maintenance vehicles might need to enter or cross an area, if wheelchair and stroller access is part of the picture, and in the case of boardwalks, whether they are high enough off the ground to need railings.

It gets a bit more complicated when the project involves saltwater areas or tidal systems, where particular attention needs to be paid to the materials used and the possible effects of sea level rise.

Nelson, who also worked on HCT’s Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project, said creating unique visitor experiences as a component of rewilding efforts can be a powerful combination. “I don’t think I realized how many people might visit these sites until they get completed, and you see the numbers of people that go,” he said. “Once it’s opened up, people are excited to be there and really explore the space.”

Project refresher

The Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project includes the restoration of two retired cranberry bogs that bookend 174-acre Hinckleys Pond in Harwich, located at the headwaters of the Herring River estuary. Hinckleys Pond is also connected by streams to river herring spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.

Harwich Conservation Trust’s Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project includes the rewilding of two retired cranberry bogs that bracket Hinckleys Pond, indicated with red circles. The blue arrows pointing into the three ponds show upstream migration of river herring each spring.

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 makes it more difficult for local growers to continue farming. Some are looking to exit the industry.

Farmers have a choice. They can either sell their properties for conversion of the upland to subdivisions which can cause water quality changes and end up closing off public access to the land. Or they can seek a conservation future by selling to local land trusts and towns. In 2021 at Hinckleys Pond, the Jenkins family finished their farming chapter and chose to sell their 31 acres to HCT for the next chapters of conservation and eco-restoration.

The Brown family, who owns a retired bog on the other side of the pond, is also partnering with HCT on the project. The collaborative eco-effort will increase biodiversity and restore freshwater wetland habitat as well as enhance opportunities for everyone to enjoy the trails, views and wildlife watching.

The eco-restoration project is 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.

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