Harwich Conservation Trust Annual Meeting celebrates accomplishments, faces challenges with confidence

A magical summer evening overlooking Pleasant Bay provided the perfect backdrop for Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) 2025 Annual Meeting. About 200 attendees ambled into the beautiful Wequassett Resort, marveled at the view and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, drinks and conversation.

Buoyed and refreshed, folks were ready to tackle the meat of the matter: a look at this year’s HCT accomplishments and the mission ahead. Tom Evans, President of HCT’s Board of Trustees, thanked members for their generous financial support and many hours of volunteer work. And he spoke frankly about the challenges faced by HCT and other land conservation organizations due to federal funding uncertainties.

“We are busier than ever, with projects expanding in size, complexity and administration,” said Evans. “But we face some very real uncertainties in planning and the possibility of what I call the domino effect. Federal cutbacks put pressure on the states. The states have their own challenges and put pressure on non-profits. Now, non-profits will turn more to their donors. And it’s a bit complicated by the fact that federal policies and actions are undoing environmental protections.”

But Evans was confident that the HCT community would rise to the occasion. “We will work through these issues, just as we always have,” he said. “We have a lot of experience at being responsive, nimble and creative as we deal with challenges of all kinds.”

HCT programs open the door to wonder

The positive power of HCT programs then took the stage, as Andrea Higgins HCT Naturalist and Program Leader described the joy and reward of working with children and young adults. Higgins leads popular HCT programs, including Newbies in Nature, Ecosystem Explorers, and Monomoy Regional School District programs for diverse learners with different abilities.

“It definitely fills my heart to open the door to the wonder that is the Harwich Conservation Trust and the properties that are preserved forever,” said Higgins. “These are really sweet, tender moments that our children are sharing with their caregivers and their grandparents, and these are places that they can continue to return to again and again.”

Liz Adams, a parent whose children are frequent participants in these HCT programs, described what Higgins’ work has meant for her family. “This program is preserving the things that are disappearing from our lives, particularly our kids’ lives,” she said. “It’s a once-a-week opportunity to slow down and really be present, to appreciate the little things, to take time outside and get away from being in front of screens. There’s an opportunity to foster creativity.”

Exciting upcoming projects

HCT Executive Director Michael Lach brought the group up to speed on land preservation and eco-restoration projects. Highlights included that HCT donors had led the way in partnership with State and Town funding to reach the $3.5 million goal for preserving 50 acres along the Cape Cod Rail Trail in the Herring River watershed.

Last year, landowner Ray Thacher Jr. had offered HCT the opportunity for a preservation purchase, and since then HCT donors rallied in response. Ray will continue to farm the bogs through next year while HCT starts a study of eco-restoration options.

Always moving forward, after finishing one campaign, HCT jumps into another. Next up the $1.5 million Pine Island Preservation Project focuses on enhancing the health of the nearby Herring River. This new land-saving quest includes the property purchase price of $1.1 million and additional project costs including undevelopment as well as initial island restoration.

Thanks to generous donations, $1 million has already been raised. The island of tall pines and oaks is located at the end of an approximately 450-foot causeway that connects to Lothrop Avenue.

While HCT opens up a lot of places for folks to walk and enjoy, plans for Pine Island call for the creation of a wildlife refuge. “Birds and other wildlife deserve places that are free of human disturbance,” said Lach. “We want to turn that property back into a true island.  Our goal eventually is to remove the causeway and allow the tidal exchange in the Herring River estuary to flow freely around the island, which will also help restore some important salt marsh habitat.”

A fairy garden blooms

The meeting took a whimsical turn as Lach described the curious case of the fairy garden, located along a side trail at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve. Years ago, Dianne Wadsworth, her son Ty and friend Nancy Carroll started the garden in Wadsworth’s backyard, installing all sorts of charming figurines.

The fairy garden spread onto an adjacent 4,000 square-foot “owners unknown” parcel. In March, the town auctioned off the property and HCT submitted the winning bid.. The price was less than $1 per square foot, “which is an incredible savings, given the fair market value of fairy garden real estate these days,” joked Lach.

Exciting plans are afoot for the fairy garden. “Now with Andrea’s family programs, and all of the youngsters’ imagination and whimsical ideas out in nature, we’re going to rejuvenate this fairy garden,” said Lach. “And we’ll need your fundraising help at some point, so stay tuned and you can learn how to make that magic happen.”

Lach also broke the news that HCT is aiming for a late September opening of the mile-long All Persons Trail at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve. The new trail is part of the ongoing eco-restoration project at the Preserve and will allow people of all abilities to enjoy nature.

APCC, Musnick honored with HCT awards

The program also included an awards presentation to HCT’s Volunteer of the Year and Conservationist of the Year.

HCT volunteer Michael Musnick, a tireless champion of the Eastern box turtle, was presented with HCT’s Volunteer of the Year Award. Musnick has spent countless hours in the field, skillfully locating these elusive reptiles and outfitting them with radio telemetry transmitters to track their movements.

The box turtle is listed as a Species of Special Concern in Massachusetts, and is facing challenges from habitat loss. Musnick’s talent and effort has provided important scientific data in the effort to protect these shelled wonders that can live up to 100 years in the wild.

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) was presented with HCT’s Conservationist of the Year Award. APCC’s mission is to preserve, protect and enhance the natural resources of Cape Cod.

The organization has been an essential Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) partner for the ongoing Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project, expertly administering federal funding to support the eco-restoration construction phase of HCT’s transformational effort to rewild two retired cranberry bogs that bookend 174-acre Hinckleys Pond in Harwich.

APCC’s Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb graciously accepted the award and also spoke about the challenges of conservation work in light of unpredictable federal funding.

“Nobody’s coming to our rescue,” said Gottlieb. “Whatever we do that is going to be good for the environment, is going to be done locally. The federal government is pulling back from long-standing environmental protections and practices across the board.”

This means hard work is ahead, said Gottlieb. “The best way to control land you care about is to own it,” he advised, encouraging support of local land trusts like HCT. “And we all collectively have a substantial challenge ahead of us in the next several years to win the arms race against development interests.”

HCT is ‘foremost land trust on Cape Cod’

The evening finished on a high note with a fascinating presentation on Cape Cod’s conservation history by featured speaker Mark Robinson, Executive Director of The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, a nonprofit regional support organization for local land trusts on Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts.

HCT Board President Tom Evans introduced Robinson as “a catalyst for land protection and preservation all across the region.”

Robinson had kind words for HCT’s accomplishments over the years. “There’s an old saying that the last shall be first,” he said. “Well, Harwich Conservation Trust was the last town-wide land trust to be organized on Cape Cod. But you are now the foremost land trust on Cape Cod. It’s just phenomenal, the growth, the maturity, the leadership, the passion that the Harwich Conservation Trust board and staff and volunteers have brought to this mission.”

HCT would like to thank the Wequassett Resort and their wonderful staff for providing such a spectacular and welcoming venue. And we are grateful for the continuing support and generosity of our members. Together, we have accomplished great things. And we look forward to the important land-saving work ahead that makes a lasting, local difference for everyone.

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—Your tax-deductible contributions help fulfill the mission of the Harwich Conservation Trust to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and our shared quality of life. And your land-saving financial support helps us preserve beautiful properties that can become stellar trail destinations. Find out how to donate by clicking here.