Eco-Restoration Journey Week 4: A look into the future

It may look a little rough out there, but an exciting transformation is underway at the Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project in Harwich.

Excavators have completed much of the microtopography work on the former cranberry bog areas near Route 124. This process roughens the surface to create a landscape that is more in line with a natural wetland area, producing a varied, complex habitat where a diversity of plants and animals can thrive.

“Certainly, it looks raw,” said Nick Nelson, a Senior Fluvial Geomorphologist and Regional Director with Inter-Fluve, the firm that is partnering with HCT on the project. “But that’s to be expected and it should be vegetating up pretty quickly. We should start to see some green in the next few weeks.”

All signs point to a bright future for the Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project in Harwich. Harwich Conservation Trust photo.

During the work, sand was also removed from the former bog areas. Historically, the sand was applied over the bog’s surface every few years by farmers to stimulate cranberry vine growth. By digging away the sand, native wetland plant seeds beneath are now free to grow, with access to sunlight and water.

There is some mystery as to what might begin to grow at the site over the next few weeks. “It’s really hard to say exactly what will come up as it’s based on the seeds buried in the sand, cranberry layers, and peat,” said Nelson.

But a look at what happened at HCT’s recently-completed eco-restoration project at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve could provide some insight. At Cold Brook, ” lots of grasses, rushes, sedges began growing right away,” said Nelson. “As the vegetation grows, you’ll begin to see more and more birds, dragonflies, etc.”

About the project

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, at the headwaters of the Herring River estuary and immediately downstream of river herring spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.

The project also seeks to improve shoreline habitat of Hinckleys Pond, which is also a herring spawning 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 freshwater wetland habitat and enhance recreational opportunities.

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.

In 2021, thanks to generous donors, HCT was able to purchase the 31-acre retired bog area from the Jenkins family. If not preserved, the forested upland along Headwaters Drive and Rt. 124 could have been converted into a subdivision which would have impacted pond health and closed off the popular spot to the public.

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.

Previous projects offer look into future

If you’re intrigued by what the Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project might look like with the passage of time, you may want to plan an eco-restoration road trip.

Microtopography work at the Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project roughens the surface to create a landscape that is more in line with a natural wetland area. Harwich Conservation Trust photo.

There are several cool conservation areas in our region where similar projects have previously taken place. They offer a window into what you might see at the Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Preserve in the years to come.

HCT’s Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve is a great place to start, as the trails are now open! Our recently-completed eco-restoration project has transformed this site into a wildlife oasis, with rewilded wetland and stream habitats and an enhanced visitor experience including a half-mile wheelchair accessible All Persons Trail. Cold Brook is now flowing freely through the 66-acre Preserve for the first time in over a century, on its way to Saquatucket Harbor on Nantucket Sound.

Just off-Cape, there are two areas where more time has passed since eco-restoration projects were undertaken. This allows a good look at how quickly Mother Nature can transform an area once a project is completed.

Most of the restoration work at the 481-acre Mass Audubon Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth was completed by 2016, transforming a former cranberry farm into wildlife habitat. This is the largest eco-restoration project ever completed in the Northeast.

The Eel River Headwaters Restoration Project, also in Plymouth, was completed in 2010. The project, which transformed about 60 acres of a former cranberry farm, was the first project of its kind in Massachusetts. In the ensuing 15 years since the project was completed, 18-inch cedar trees that were planted at the site have grown to 30-feet-tall!

These projects provide a look into the future of HCT’s Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project. Once we’re done, the incredible restorative power of nature takes over and transformative results are just around the corner.

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