Harwich Conservation Trust Opens New Hinckleys Pond Preserve

HARWICH – The Harwich Conservation Trust has opened its second eco-restoration preserve in a year. The Hinckleys Pond–Herring River Preserve encompasses two former cranberry bogs on the east and west side of Hinckleys Pond.

The collaborative effort will increase biodiversity, restore freshwater wetland habitat, and improve water quality as well as enhance opportunities for people to enjoy the trails, views and wildlife, according to Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) Executive Director Michael Lach. 

Close to 40 people attended a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the entrance to the preserve off Headwaters Drive in Pleasant Lake. 

“There was even a rainbow to lift up this celebration of the reopening,” said Lach.

The preserve is made up of two former cranberry bogs that over years of farming had transformed former freshwater wetlands into sand-layered cranberry growing habitat.

 The opening follows the eco-restoration of retired cranberry bogs in the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, now a 66-acre network of ponds, wetlands and the Cold Brook stream off Bank Street, which serves to reduce nitrogen pollution. After the success of that project, HCT turned its attention to the former bogs adjacent to Hinckleys Pond.

 Sand was removed from the site and the ground was roughened in a process called microtopography to more closely resemble a wetland environment, according to the trust. The process allowed long dormant native seeds to come to life and flourish.

The work began last March under the guidance of Inter-fluve, Inc. of Cambridge, which won an Engineering Excellence Award for the Cold Brook eco-restoration project, and Sumco Eco-Contracting of Peabody, which altered the landscape. 

The project includes native plantings, an improved interface with the Cape Cod Rail Trail and an overlook of Hinckleys Pond. A new mile-long all-persons walking trail allows people of all abilities to skirt the wetlands while viewing the surrounding habitat. 

The rewilding of the 30 acres is a testament to partnership, Lach said, noting the contributions of trust donors and volunteers who provided financial support and committed long hours and life experience. The two restoration projects have happened in one year because of donors and community partnerships, Lach said.

HCT President Tom Evans cited the Brown family, who agreed to place a conservation restriction on the west side cranberry bog, and Barbara and Fred Jenkins, owners of the east side bog, who chose conservation rather than selling to a developer who could have built seven or eight houses on the upland. The Hinckleys Pond Association was recognized for donating $75,000 to the project. The town of Brewster was also recognized for its participation.

The Hinckleys Pond-Herring River Watershed Restoration Project, a $1.9 million investment, was also funded by a $146,700 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southeast New England Program grant for design and permitting, $1.6 million National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration 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.

Evans cited the “extraordinary assistance” the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) provided in making this eco-restoration possible.

April Wobst, restoration program manager with APCC, said the organization started talking with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration two years ago about working with towns on eco-restoration projects, and she met with Lach and Evans. The discussions led to a $17.5 million NOAA grant for five projects, including the Hinckley Pond preserve.

Nick Nelson, a Harwich High School graduate and regional director of Inter-fluve, the project design consultants, praised the collaborative effort tied to the restoration and land preservation project. 

“Nature has its strange way of helping us along,” Nelson said of the rapid transformation to wetland habitat. 

“This is probably the strongest and most enduring partnership we have with any organization,” said Select Board Chair Donald Howell. “Our grandchildren and their grandchildren are going to be profoundly appreciative of all these efforts. Thank you for everything you do.” 

Howell praised the efforts of the trust in working with the town’s real estate and open space committee over the years. He called the project another testament to partnerships that benefit the future of the community.  

The trails and Hinckleys Pond overlook are now open, offering a refreshed view of the natural surroundings.