Trust Eyes Rushy Pond For Conservation

HARWICH – The Harwich Conservation Trust has been prioritizing local ponds for conservation for the past 20 years. Those efforts continued this summer with the pending purchase of Rushy Pond.

 The trust successfully made an offer of just under $80,000 for the pond, located south of Route 39 and west of Depot Road. Now the nonprofit is working to secure the necessary funding in hopes of closing on the purchase by year’s end.

 Mike Lach, the trust’s executive director, said in an email last week that the trust plans to cover the cost through donations.

 The 1.77-acre pond is home to a variety of wildlife including dragonflies, damselflies, frogs, turtles and birds, which nest in shrubs along its shores. The pond is bordered to the south by approximately 1.4 acres of woodland, including 122 feet of frontage covered with maple, pine and tall oak trees as well as sweetpepper bush.

 "We need to be strategic as we take on land acquisition projects and this one checks all the important boxes,” Tom Evans, president of the trust’s board of directors, said in a statement announcing the Rushy Pond purchase last week. “It’s a big win for habitat and water quality.”

 Lach said the trust has preserved 750 acres of land in town since 1988. That includes 285 acres of pondfront and pond watershed land protected through the Harwich Priority Ponds Project since 2004. The 285 acres include 10,000 feet of shoreline at 15 ponds, the trust said in the statement.

 “Local fresh water ponds decorate our Cape Cod landscape like vibrant blue gems,” the statement read. “The health of these jewels is increasingly tarnished with deteriorating water quality caused by nutrient loading from septic systems, lawns, and road run off.”

 The purchase will help link together almost 200 acres of town-owned land, Lach said. The pond is bordered by 35 acres of land to the north and south under the control of the town’s select board. More than 100 acres of land to the southwest of the pond is under the control of the water department, which abuts an additional 57 acres making up Thompson’s Field.

 Mark Robinson, executive director of the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, applauded the Harwich trust’s dedication to helping conserve available pondfront property in town. The local priority pond initiative was built around the compact’s research into available properties in town.

 "Twenty years ago, the Harwich Conservation Trust took that pond study to heart and has been making great strides ever since in protecting the most vulnerable local pond settings,” Robinson said in the statement.

 Lach said because of the pond’s size, there are no plans for trails or other forms of passive recreation.

 “At the moment, our goal is to preserve the land for wildlife habitat and public water supply protection,” he said.

 And while the trust is working toward closing on the Rushy property, it’s also got its sights set on another prospective conservation project. Lach said the trust is working to fundraise $3.5 million to purchase the 50-acre Thatcher property “to save the scenic views along the Cape Cod Rail Trail, protect the health of the Herring River, and create future walking trails.” The trust is working to secure the necessary funds for that project by June 2025, he said.

  “I'm amazed at how HCT takes on multiple land campaigns simultaneously,” Robinson said. “It's a testament to a bold willingness to act in a very competitive real estate market.”