Help Us Preserve Pine Island to Protect the Herring River

Pine Island in Harwich is a land that time forgot, in the best way possible. Surrounded by the vast salt marsh of the Herring River estuary, the island outpost is a throwback to simpler times on Cape Cod. And owner Wayne Coulson wants to keep it that way.

The $1.5 million Pine Island Project 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 we’ve reached $1 million. Please consider a donation to preserve this special place. 

Conservation vision

“I’m kind of an environmentalist,” said Coulson, who serves on the Town of Harwich Conservation Commission. “This is a special place. I’d like to see it preserved, rather than someone build a big mansion up here.”

In 2021, Coulson donated approximately 10 acres to Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) in honor of his parents, the late Arthur and Barbara Coulson. Now he is selling Pine Island to HCT so its natural serenity as a wildlife sanctuary can be permanently protected. 

Island history

“My folks bought it in 1960,” said Coulson. After a few years, his parents built a structure, “but it was just a camp,” said Coulson. “It wasn’t finished inside, but we lived there during the summers for a long time.”

And young Wayne had the run of the island. “I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time out here as a kid,” he said. “My best friend and I used to hunt all over that marsh, walking all over and going up the river in boats, doing all that great stuff.”

Eventually, his parents started spending more time at a home in West Harwich, opening the door for the next chapter on Pine Island. After serving with the U.S. Navy Seabees, Coulson and several buddies took up residence. “We had a lot of fun for a few years,” he said, with a laugh.

In the mid-1970s, his parents remodeled the camp and spent many years enjoying the island and the surrounding beauty of the Serengeti-like salt marsh. He said other residents and visitors over the years have included deer, otters, foxes, ducks, geese and more.

Several other islands are located in the estuary and the marsh was an important resource for early settlers. “These islands didn’t have trees on them back in the early 1800s,” said Coulson. “They would cut the marsh hay for the animals, and they built racks out on the islands to keep the hay dry.” Coulson said horses used in the haying process were outfitted with snowshoe-like footwear so they could walk on the marsh.

Wildlife refuge

Pine Island is an upland hammock island surrounded by tidal marsh that provides an important source of safety for wildlife. It plays a particularly significant role as a resting, nesting, and feeding area for migrating birds.

A variety of shorebirds including great blue heron, snowy egret and great egret inhabit the surrounding salt marsh. Marsh hammock islands are one of the last remaining habitats for some amphibians and reptiles. Deer, bobcats and raccoons also use hammocks as refuges.

Protecting Herring River health

Migrating river herring swim nearby every spring via the Herring River to upstream spawning ponds. Preserving Pine Island prevents future septic system contaminants, like nitrogen, from impacting river health and wildlife that depend on good water quality for survival.

Preventing and reducing nitrogen loads is key to the health of the Herring River system. The Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP) technical report on the area states that the primary nutrient causing the increasing impairment of our coastal embayments is nitrogen.

The primary sources of this human-caused nitrogen problem are septic system effluent making its way into groundwater and storm water road runoff that carries residual lawn fertilizer and other pollutants into surface waters.

“Nitrogen related water quality decline represents one of the most serious threats to the ecological health of the nearshore coastal waters,” the report states.

Places like Pine Island also provide protection from the increasingly unpredictable effects of climate change. Natural sponges like the Herring River salt marsh system and Pine Island absorb storm surges, helping to protect roads, homes, and other inland infrastructure as well as safeguarding fresh groundwater supplies.

And two-thirds of commercially and recreationally harvested finfish, like striped bass and bluefish, spend their young days growing up in our vibrant salt marshes.

Eco-restoration considerations

The causeway access from Lothrop Avenue will be initially retained to allow for ecological restoration purposes involving structure removal and native plantings.

After the disturbed area is naturalized, HCT can determine the salt marsh restoration scope of removing all or a portion of the artificial causeway. Removing the causeway and replacing it with healthy salt marsh would allow for the twice daily natural flow of sea water around the island.

Over the decades, the artificial causeway has interrupted tidal patterns, which has given rise to dense phragmites reeds. These opportunistic plants crowd out and displace the beneficial salt marsh community, which in turn decreases wildlife diversity. It’s worth studying how causeway removal could enhance Herring River salt marsh health.

The $1.5 million Pine Island Project 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 we’ve reached $1 million.

We invite you to make a local, lasting difference by donating to this exciting land-saving opportunity. To donate, please click here.