Eco-restoration Project To Begin At Hinckleys Pond

 HARWICH – The Hinckleys Pond/Herring River Watershed Restoration Project will get underway in a matter of days, according to Harwich Conservation Trust Executive Director Michael Lach, after a federal funding freeze was lifted.

 “We’re beyond excited to begin this transformative project that will enhance the natural beauty of Hinckleys Pond and improve the health of the entire Herring River ecosystem,” said Lach. “Not only will this project restore vital habitat, but it will also open up new opportunities for our community to experience the outdoors.”

There was concern that one of the federal grants for the project might get tied up with the change in administration.

 “In January the [National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration] grant was frozen by the new federal administration, but the funds are available again and we look forward to starting the process of rewilding the site,” said Lach. 

The Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Watershed Restoration Project is funded by a $146,700 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program grant for design and permitting, $1.6 million National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience grant, a $250,000 EPA National Estuary Program grant, and a $100,000 State MassTrails grant for the wheelchair accessible trail.

 All funds have been approved. Each grant is reimbursement based; HCT has to pay for project expenses upfront and then be reimbursed through the grant programs, said Lach.

 The project will focus on rewilding two 19- and 11-acre retired cranberry bogs adjacent to Hinckleys Pond and the Herring River estuary, restoring wetlands, improving water quality, creating new habitat for wildlife and enhancing natural flood absorption from storms, said Lach. It will also provide wheelchair accessible trails, a boardwalk and a scenic overlook, all accessible from the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  

 Improving water quality in the Herring River and Hinckleys Pond, a 174-acre headwaters body, is a major goal of the project, which is just downstream from river herring spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.  

 Work will take place in the former Jenkins cranberry bogs located along the west side of Pleasant Lake Avenue and on the north side of Headwaters Drive and the Brown family bog on the west side of Hinckleys Pond. The trust purchased the retired Jenkins bogs and has entered into a conservation restriction with the Brown family to protect the natural resources on the privately owned bog.

 The ecological restoration will be similar to the recently concluded work by the trust at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve off Bank Street, where close to 50 acres of fallow bogs have been rewilded, ponds were created, and the flow of Cold Brook enhanced for diadromous fish passage.  

 The trust on Friday was presented with the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s inaugural Excellence in Conservation Award for the Cold Brook restoration project at the organization’s annual conference in Amherst (see related story). 

Once construction begins at the Hinckleys Pond project, the site will be closed for public safety and the safety of the workers. The Cape Cod Rail Trail will be open as usual and will provide a good vantage point to watch the transformation of the site into a wildlife oasis and advanced visitor experience, said Lach. Once construction begins, the trails will be closed for about six months.

 The trust is encouraging people who traditionally use walking trails in and around the former cranberry bogs and people who are interested in what the restoration effort will look like to visit the Cold Brook preserve, which is now open to the public. Tours are also available through the HCT. 

 The Hinckleys Pond/Herring River Watershed Restoration Project was engineered by Inter-fluve, an environmental consultant firm from Cambridge, and the restoration work will be done by Sumco Eco Contracting of Peabody. Both companies conducted the work on the Cold Brook restoration project. 

 Other partners contributing to the project include the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Brown Family, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center and Restore America’s Estuaries, according to the trust.