Sen. Elizabeth Warren celebrates Herring River restoration in Wellfleet

WELLFLEET – Calling it a project that will help the commonwealth and the nation, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren came to the Wellfleet Public Library Tuesday to celebrate the construction phase of the Herring River Restoration Project.

“I’m here to celebrate two things,” she said. “One is this extraordinary project. The second thing is the partnerships that made this happen.”

Warren, joined U.S. Rep. William R. "Bill" Keating, D-Mass, state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent Brian Carlstrom, and state, federal and town officials to take a victory lap for the work done over two decades to bring the $70 million restoration project to fruition.

Project could increase area for shellfishing

Once completed, the project will restore 1,700 acres of degraded salt marsh, improve the river and Wellfleet Gut’s water quality, enhance climate resiliency, restore native vegetation and could potentially provide hundreds of acres for shellfish harvesting.

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The project is the largest of its kind in the Northeast, and is expected to return the river to its natural flow, bringing with it increased recreational and economic opportunities for the region.

A $27.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service was awarded in April. 

Warren said the project wouldn't have been possible without the partnerships developed between the town, National Seashore, state and federal agencies and various nonprofits.

“This is the federal government at its best,” Warren said at a conference table in the library where about 25 people had gathered.

Warren called the work “powerfully important,” adding the project is a model for how we can think of the world around us.

“This is working in harmony with the world,” she said.

Restored area could bring tourism

Keating called it one of the most important restoration projects in the history of Cape Cod. Once complete it will restore six miles of waterways, he said.

“It’s enormous in terms of its impact, but it’s also smart,” Keating said. “For every dollar put in, there’s $6 of benefit. On every dollar."

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Restoring the degraded waterway will have ripple effects. Restoring the estuary will restore the salt marsh nursery, bring back native sea and shore birds, drown out invasive and woody plants that grew after the tidal flow was stopped. As the area changes for the better ecologically, it will draw tourists and small businesses.

Keating called the project a model that will make it easier for smaller projects coming down the road. He cited $2.6 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for coastal resiliency and habitat restoration, and millions more in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act.

Keating gave credit to Don Palladino, one of the founders of the Friends of the Herring River, for initiating the work of restoring the Herring River years ago.

Project Coordinator Carole Ridley called the restoration a good example of how smart investments in infrastructure can help communities become more resilient and make them better stewards of their resources.

When the Chequessett Neck Road Bridge was built 100 years ago, it was supposed to help with the mosquitoes swarming the town. Over time, the bridge gates choked off the river flow. Invasive and woody shrubs moved in. Peat was exposed and fish kills were frequent. The marsh sunk. The water quality grew so impaired that it was in violation of the Clean Water Act.

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Once the Herring River served as a nursery for sea creatures, where herring were prolific, and a salt marsh provided foraging for all manner of creatures. The bridge and dike changed all that. Freshwater wetlands took over, releasing large amounts of methane. The area around the bridge became a point source for bacterial contamination. Shellfishing was prohibited for hundreds of acres near the bridge.

The solution to restore the tidal estuary is a measured, science-based plan that will use adaptive management techniques to assure changes don’t occur too fast, and that they are studied and assessed as they happen, Ridley said.

First part of project will take two years

Phase one of the project will include a two-year construction period. The bridge and all the water control elements needed for full restoration will be built. A temporary bypass will be built next to the Chequessett Neck Road Bridge that will be used while the new bridge is built.

The Herring River Executive Council has adopted a three-year plan that will increase high tide incrementally to 1.8 feet. That will be held for two years while data is collected and changes are monitored before any adaptations are made.

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She said the adaptive management plan uses sophisticated modeling, is science-based and conservative. But analysis is needed for the adaptive management of the project.

When the restoration project is complete, there's potential for 200 acres below the dike that could be used for aquaculture. The town currently has about 400 acres of cultivated aquaculture, and $8 million to $9 million in annual oyster sales.

Carlstrom said impacts of the restoration project will reach into Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine.

“This is correcting an impaired water quality resource,” he said. “From the Seashore’s perspective, this is the tip of the iceberg for the type of restoration we need. We’ve got other projects that need equal attention.”

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT. 

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sen. Elizabeth Warren celebrates Herring River restoration in Wellfleet