Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Headwaters Restoration Plan OK'd

 HARWICH – The conservation commission has approved an eco-restoration project for the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River headwaters. Most of the work will be concentrated around the fallow Jenkins cranberry bogs along Pleasant Lake Avenue and Headwaters Drive.

 The goals of the project proposed by the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) are to improve water quality through the nutrient removal process that occurs in healthy wetland habitats; enhancing the habitat for aquatic and wetland organisms; and expanding ecological diversity.

 HCT has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), along with other grants, to help fund the project. 

 The eco-restoration will occur in two bog areas along the edge of Hinckley’s Pond. HCT, which filed the notice of intent with the conservation commission, owns the Jenkins bogs, where work will be conducted on 19 acres. The Warner bog, consisting of 11 acres on the northwest side of the pond owned by the Brown family, will also be returned to its natural state. 

 The project will be similar to the work that took place this past year in the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve off Bank Street, said Nick Nelson, regional director of Inter-fluve, the environmental consulting firm that oversaw the Cold Brook restoration and is working on the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River project.

“Initially there was some disruption to wildlife in Cold Brook, but the wildlife is doing wonderfully now,” said Nelson.    

  “With HCT’s Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project nearly completed and trails there to reopen later this fall, we have learned firsthand how to complete these projects from start to finish,” said HCT Executive Director Michael Lach. “With our project partners, we’ll apply that knowledge to the Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Headwaters Project to benefit pond health, restore wetlands, improve wildlife habitats, and enhance the visitor experience.”

HCT has been working on the design and permitting for the project since 2021. The trust first went before the commission in May, and adjustments have been made since that time, including the removal of a 1.4-acre pond that was earlier planned to be established on the Jenkins bogs. Commission members raised concerns about the potential for that waterbody to suffer from depleted oxygen in the summer heat.

The plan for the bogs calls for changing the microtopography by turning over the surface of the bogs, removing sand and filling in ditches. Those locations will be planted with white cedar trees and simple shrub fens to create wetlands, which will serve to remove nitrogen. 

The pumphouse on the west side of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which runs between the bogs and Hinckleys Pond, will be removed  and access enhanced, including ramps from the trail to the pond and a handicap access observation platform. A culvert between the bogs and pond will also be removed and a dirt road rendered unusable. A trail will be created around the bogs and a couple of parking spaces added.

About a year ago, Lach said, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) approached HCT with the idea of combining several Cape-based eco-restoration projects into a single grant application to NOAA’s Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grant Program. HCT welcomed the partnership and has been grateful to work with APCC, said Lach.

  The NOAA grant includes $1.6 million to complete the restoration of 30 acres of wetland to increase biodiversity, restore about 500 feet of pond habitat that helps migratory river herring, and create wheelchair accessible trails opposite Cape Tech, said Lach.

  In addition, HCT has applied for and received grant approval from Restore America’s Estuaries Southern New England Program ($146,700), the National Estuary Program ($250,000) and the state MassTrails Program ($100,000). HCT is also partnering with the Brown family to “re-wild” their bog, Lach said. 

  HCT hopes the restoration will serve as an “outdoor classroom” for Cape Tech students to learn about ecological restoration. Innovative eco-restoration partnerships create educational opportunities for local students who represent the next generation of environmental decision-makers, said Lach.

  "To the extent that Harwich is having to spend more time addressing water quality issues, the more we are realizing the importance of the Herring River watershed and all of the ponds feeding into it — Long, Seymour, and Hinckleys ponds,” said HCT President Tom Evans. “Our protection of them will be critical to Harwich’s water quality going forward. And that NOAA recognizes this through this grant approval only underlines the importance of what we’re doing.” 

 Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski said comments from the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program will be part of the order of conditions, including requiring an Eastern box turtle plan for protection at the Warner Bog. The state division of marine fisheries also set work restriction periods to protect migrating herring during migratory periods from March 15 to June 30 and Sept.1 to Nov. 15.