Eco-Restoration Journey Week 25: Happiness is a nice parking lot

Many nature journeys begin with a somewhat gassy accomplishment: finding a good parking spot! 

And when Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project reaches the finish line this fall, visitors will be delighted to find significant improvements to the parking lot that include a new native stone surface that is pleasing to the eye, and more spots to rest your loyal ride.

The new parking lot at Harwich Conservation Trust’s Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve will have 26 spaces. Before the eco-restoration project, there were 10 parking spots. 

With that chugging chore taken care of, you’ll be free to enjoy the views, a pond overlook area and the new one-mile All Persons Trail. And bikers will be able to secure their two-wheelers at a handy new bike rack at the parking lot.

Before the project began, the lot at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve contained 10 parking spots. That number has been increased to 26, and includes two Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) van accessible spots, located close to the trailhead.

The remaining 24 parking spots could perhaps be categorized as luxurious, because they are extra wide. “The standard space width is eight feet, but we went with 9.5 feet.to give people a little more room,” said Mike Lundsted, Project Manager for SumCo Eco-Contracting. It’s nice to know that horseless carriages with a little extra girth should fit right in.

Sometimes, even a short drive across town can be stressful. If you need a moment to decompress when you arrive at the Preserve, you’ll find two classic HCT benches at the front of the parking lot, offering a splendid view of the rewilded former cranberry bog, with a scenic boardwalk resting on the horizon.

Work is progressing at Harwich Conservation Trust’s Hinckley’s Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project, which includes a scenic pond overlook area. Photo by Gerry Beetham

When HCT completed an ambitious eco-restoration project at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, there was a considerable increase in visitation. A similar uptick is expected at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve, which was already a popular destination before the rewilding effort began.

The half-mile All Persons Trail at Cold Brook has been a big hit, and a similar mile-long trail at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve is sure to be a star attraction. These All Persons Trails are wheelchair accessible, suitable for families with youngsters in strollers and provide a great way for people of all abilities to enjoy nature.

In a few weeks, you’ll be able to check it out for yourself, once the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project is completed. And you can drop off your jalopy in a darn nice parking lot!

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 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.

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