2.3-acre Herring River Marsh View Project

The Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) is looking to the community for help in raising $425,000 toward the purchase of approximately 2.3 acres comprised of two lots that have a combined 448 feet of salt marsh shoreline within the Herring River estuary. This land-saving project can protect both important wildlife habitat and a scenic view enjoyed by visitors to HCT’s existing wheelchair accessible boardwalk located on the opposite shore of the A. Janet Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Preservation of this land is a high priority given the following community benefits:

• Protected Open Space Connectivity: The property abuts the Herring River salt marsh and 12+ acres of protected open space donated to HCT by the DeFulvio family in 1994 and named in honor of A. Janet DeFulvio.
• Scenic View: The land is located directly opposite HCT’s wheelchair accessible boardwalk that was established in the year 2000 through a partnership with AmeriCorps. In 2006, AmeriCorps and HCT partnered to install an osprey nesting platform visible from the boardwalk viewing deck and a nesting pair has occupied the site ever since.
• Wildlife Habitat: The property is mapped by the State of Massachusetts as BioMap2 Critical Natural Landscape that defines landsupportive of long-term ecological processes and wide-ranging species.
• River Herring & Water Quality: The Herring River is the most significant alewife migration/spawning area on Cape Cod and perhaps even in New England with seven miles of river flowing from four upstream spawning ponds to Nantucket Sound. Preserving the land will help extinguish septic system nutrient loading into the Herring River and therefore help protect the health of its namesake fish.
• Coastal Resilience: The property has been identified by the State as having high potential to support inland migration of salt marsh and other coastal habitats over the coming century.

Join Your Fellow Fans of the Herring River!

Help protect the water quality of the Herring River and save the panoramic marsh view with its woodland backdrop by supporting the 2.3-acre Herring River Marsh View Project.

Please click here to donate by credit card.

Thank you for making a lasting, local, land-saving difference.