How can I get involved an d l earn more? As the Herring River Restoration Project Int r o duction progresses, opportunities will arise for a broad Everyone dreams of turning back time. spectrum of educational, stewardship, and Re sto ring t he Opportunities to rectify past mistakes are rare and volunteer activities. For a wealth of background fleeting. Who wouldn’t relish the chance to undo an materials and other documentation on the project, error made long ago? One hundred years ago in visit Wellfleet’s Herring River Restoration web page Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Town officials decided to at http://www.wellfleetma.org/Home/S007129EE. build a dike at the mouth of the Herring River. At To speak to a staff person working on the project, the time, the river was the lifeblood of one the largest contact John Portnoy, Senior Ecologist at the Herring and most productive coastal wetland systems in New Cape Cod National Seashore at 508-487-3262 England. But during that era the immense benefits ext. 107 or the Wellfleet Conservation and values of wetlands were ignored and the desire to Commission at 508-349-0308. River “…exterminate the mosquito pest…” and “…drain the marshes so they may be brought into valuable land…” For the most up-to-date information on the led to the construction of a dike at Chequessett Neck project, subscribe to the Herring River News, a Road in order to “…exclude the sea” (report of Whitman periodic, e-newsletter. To subscribe, send and Howard on Proposed Dike at Herring River, 1906). an email with the subject “Herring River News” to [email protected]. During the ensuing decades, the vital role of wetlands has been widely recognized. Wetlands are protected The Chequessett by strong laws and many government agencies and Neck Road Dike is non-government organizations are actively involved a popular fishing in efforts to restore and improve the ecological spot, but only on health of wetlands damaged by past human activity. the Wellfleet New England’s largest and most ambitious project Harbor side. Few fish are found of this kind—the Herring River Restoration Project— upstream. presents an exceptional opportunity to turn back the ecological clock. The Herring River floodplain, once a thriving salt marsh, is Ackno wledgements now dominated by shrubby woodlands and the common reed. This brochure was written and edited by the Herring River Restoration Technical Committee. Graphic design and production was provided by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Funds for printing were generously donated by the Wellfleet Conservation Trust and the Massachusetts Corporate Wetlands Restoration Program. The common reed, Phragmites australis, The mission of the Wellfleet Conservation Trust is the conservation, preservation and maintenance of open space and areas of wildlife habitat in Wellfleet, for the benefit of now covers large portions current and future generations. The Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to of the Herring River which gifts of cash or land are tax-deductible. The Trust is managed by a volunteer board of local citizens. The Trust endorses the Herring River Restoration Project and floodplain. The very tall and dense plant makes supports the efforts of the restoration process. The Trust owns many parcels totaling Prior to diking the Herring River in 1908, fishermen’s shacks about 56 acres in the Herring River basin. For further information, go to: walking difficult and http://home.comcast.net/~wellfleet.conservation.trust/ and weirs dotted the river’s shore. obscures the once expansive vistas. WCT A kayaker enjoys the Herring River just upstream from the Wellfleet Massachusetts Office of Massachusetts Chequessett Neck Road Dike. Conservation Trust Coastal Zone Management Corporate Wetlands Restoration Program Printed on Recycled Paper Where is the Herring River? Why do we care ab out restoring What is wrong with the Herring What is being done to restore The Herring River is the largest estuary on outer salt marshes? River, and ho w did it get that way? the Herring River? Cape Cod. It stretches four miles from its headwater Salt marshes are among the most productive Where to begin! The composition and health of The Town of Wellfleet owns the Chequessett Neck kettle ponds in north Wellfleet to its mouth at natural plant communities on Earth. Salt marsh coastal marshes—and their highly productive array of Road Dike. Cape Cod National Seashore owns 80% Wellfleet Harbor. The River’s floodplain encompasses plants provide nutrients for a huge array of plants and animals—depend on daily flooding with of the Herring River floodplain. In August of 2005, more than 1,100 acres of degraded wetlands occu- creatures in the marsh and adjacent open waters. seawater. Cape Cod’s salt marshes are subject to tidal these two parties formally agreed to work together to pying a complicated network of five valleys carved Nutrients are also transported offshore by tides fluctuation of about ten feet twice a day. With this in restore the river. This agreement led to the formation out of glacial outwash deposited 10,000 years ago. and the coastal food web. Even though we don’t mind, it’s easy to see how blockage of tides can of a Technical Committee, directed by the Town’s Each of these valleys is drained by a creek that directly consume salt marsh plants, they nourish profoundly harm salt marshes. Construction of the Board of Selectmen to develop a Restoration Plan contributes water to the Herring River before it the shellfish and finfish that we do eat. According Chequessett Neck Road Dike eliminated tidal influence outlining the opportunities, challenges, and benefits flows into Wellfleet Harbor and Cape Cod Bay. to some estimates, two-thirds of the commercial to the Herring River, which both dried out the rich salt of restoring the river. fish catch along the East Coast depend on salt marsh peat and transformed the marshes into a marshes for at least some part of their life cycle. freshwater environment. Salt marsh plants have been The committee’s work is backed by 25 years of research Poor quality and highly Salt marshes also protect and improve water quality. overrun by invasive freshwater and upland vegetation, conducted by National Seashore scientists and is also acidic conditions have Past experience has shown that even partial including many non-native species, like common supported by numerous government agencies and resulted in fish kills, restoration of tidal flushing can lower harmful reed, which have little value to native fish and wildlife. academic institutions studying the condition of the river particularly to juvenile bacteria levels and improve estuarine habitat. In Herring River’s original 1,100 acres of salt marsh and opportunities for restoration. A computer simula- herring during their fall coastal areas, communities depend upon healthy, and estuarine habitats present before diking have tion of the river’s hydrology has been developed to migration to the ocean. vibrant salt marshes to buffer the effects of coastal shrunk to only seven acres. predict the physical effects of restoring tidal range at var- storms and lessen damage caused by floods. ious levels. This work has established a scientifically cred- Herring River water ible justification for increasing tidal range, beginning Today, finding the River and its floodplain is difficult. Massachusetts has lost approximately one-third of is sometimes so acidic with modifications to the Chequessett Neck Road Dike. The Chequessett Neck Road Dike, built in 1908, along its pre-colonial era wetlands due to human activity. that metal fish traps A new dike would have much wider openings, capable of with smaller dikes and culverts upstream have altered Many remaining wetlands are degraded and offer used for sampling allowing a greater range of tides to reach upstream, while natural tidal patterns. Ditches dug in the early 20th diminished value to humans and wildlife. Many salt become corroded also allowing sufficient drainage to Wellfleet Harbor. century to channelize the river effectively drained the marshes suffer from altered hydrology caused by and dissolve in a Adjustable sluice gates would be used to reintroduce tides normally saturated soil. The once expansive and tidal restrictions. Tidal restrictions occur where matter of weeks. in an incremental and controlled manner over a period thriving salt marshes have been transformed into human infrastructure, such as roads and railroads, of years. Decisions to increase tide range would be based almost impenetrable stands of non-native, invasive have been built across coastal wetlands and waterways More severe, but less obvious impacts occur within the on intensive monitoring and will consider both ecologi- plants, shrubby thickets, and forests. and disrupt the natural ebb and flow of the tides original salt marsh peat. Under the full range of normal cal benefits and any potential social impacts. within upstream habitats. tides, peat remains salty and waterlogged. In this condi- tion, peat accumulates large amounts of both organic Besides the Town and the Seashore, the Committee is aided by representatives from the Town of Truro, Some notes on the Herring matter and sulfur. The slow build up of peat helps keep marshes above rising sea levels. When tides are eliminated Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, River and mosquitoes.... and salt marshes ditched, the peat rots. Decomposed peat National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Herring River was originally diked to control becomes compressed and sinks. Today, in some places the Restoration Center, Natural Resource Conservation salt marsh-breeding mosquitoes. Today we know elevation of the Herring River floodplain is three feet Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and local that these nuisance insects can be controlled lower than it was before the Chequessett Neck Road Dike stakeholders who serve as a sounding board for without eliminating any salt marsh habitat.