Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project

In collaboration with the town of Dennis, local property owners, and other project partners, the APCC Ecosystem Restoration Program secured $224,000 to advance habitat restoration in the Sesuit Creek salt marsh upstream of Bridge Street. This project is funded and supported by the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) Priority Project Program Advancement Grant (PPPAG).

In 2008, tidal flow was restored to the upper reaches of Sesuit Creek salt marsh by removing an undersized culvert and replacing it with two 10 ft by 12-foot box culverts. This upgrade rapidly restored tidal hydrology, increasing the tidal range from an average of two feet to nearly six feet and reestablishing the natural salinity gradient. However, decades of impoundment had caused the upstream marsh platform to subside by approximately two feet, resulting in prolonged inundation stress that has hindered the recovery of native salt marsh grasses.

Since the initial tidal restoration, APCC has collaborated closely with the town, DER, and the Cape Cod Conservation District to monitor ecological changes at Sesuit Creek. In 2018, APCC conducted a pilot planting study to evaluate whether introducing plugs (small seedlings) of a low marsh grass species, Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass), could enhance vegetation recovery. After several years of careful monitoring, the results showed promising vegetation response, encouraging project partners to seek funding for a larger-scale planting effort.

With support from the DER PPPAG and a private foundation, APCC is excited to announce that Woods Hole Group has been retained to develop the planting design and complete permitting in 2025. Plant installation is scheduled for May 2026, with monitoring planned throughout the summer of 2026.

Dead wood is good wood!

If you have a tree that's unsafe in your yard, consider having the tree company leaving the trunk in place and just cutting it to a height that is safe. The remaining trunk will serve as habitat. (Consider planting Virginia creeper to climb up it to provide fruit for birds, serve as a host plant for hawk moths, and provide great fall color.)

APCC Restoration Ecologist April Wobst out on site in Woods Hole documenting existing conditions for potential tidal flow and salt marsh restoration projects. This is one of several locations APCC is reviewing this month to assist the Cape Cod Conservation District, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Division of Ecological Restoration in planning for future work.

Abandoned cranberry bogs in Yarmouth slated for wetland restoration by state The state Division of Ecological Restoration announced that it would fund a series of ecological restoration projects, including four on the Cape.

Important update from APCC.

CAPE COD Herring Monitoring SUMMARY
Each year APCC provides an annual summary of volunteer visual counts of river herring in Cape Cod runs. This year the results of the 2023 herring counts again demonstrate a mixed bag containing both good news and bad news.

Herring run size estimates were calculated by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MassFisheries) using herring count data collected by volunteers using a visual count method recommended by MassFisheries. The results below compare 2023 run size estimates with 2022 numbers and with all-time high numbers.

The good news is twofold: 1) Two runs, the Herring River in Wellfleet and the Marstons Mills River (Mill Pond) saw their highest-ever run size estimates in 2023; and 2) Eleven runs had run size estimates that improved over 2022, which was a poor year for herring runs on the Cape.

The bad news is twofold: 1) Four runs decreased in 2023; and 2) Most runs saw their highest-ever run size estimates in past years (e.g., 2012, 2014 or 2018). Several runs that used to number in the ten thousand to several tens of thousands range have decreased to low numbers (less than a thousand) in recent years. Examples of diminishing runs include: Mill Creek in Sandwich, Bound Brook in Dennis, Tom Mathews Pond in Yarmouth, Red Lily Pond in Centerville, and Long Pond/Parkers River in Yarmouth. On a statewide basis, many herring runs saw their highest numbers in 2014, according to MassFisheries.

These mixed results indicate that while herring counts this year were generally better than last year, over the longer term of 5 to 11 years most herring runs have lower numbers than in past years when many runs saw their all-time highs. Herring still need protection throughout their life cycle in both freshwater and marine habitats, as well as restoration and protection of habitat. In marine waters, APCC believes that offshore industrial scale harvesting of herring is of significant concern and should be banned.

River herring, which include alewife and blueback herring, are listed as Species of Special Concern by NOAA and are considered to be critically important in the coastal food web. Since 2005, there has been an ongoing moratorium on river herring catch, sale and possession.

In 2023, volunteer herring counters on Cape Cod counted river herring along 18 herring runs. The counts were conducted by at least 14 different organizations and groups led by their count coordinators. An estimated 250+ volunteers participate in herring counts along their runs.

Since 2007, APCC has coordinated a Cape-wide volunteer herring count program using a visual count method designed by MassFisheries. The visual count method provides an estimate of the number of herring migrating during the day. Volunteer counts provide valuable scientific data on herring populations and are used by fisheries managers to manage and protect herring stocks. Herring counts also help to document the need for restoration of fish runs and the success of restoration projects. APCC’s partners include the MassFisheries, the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership, NOAA Restoration Center, town herring wardens and organizations and last but not least, many volunteers.

The importance of volunteers was underscored by Eric Hutchins, fisheries habitat restoration specialist, NOAA Restoration Center who said, “I want to personally thank all the volunteers throughout Cape Cod who take the time out of their day to complete so many valuable river herring fish counts at over a dozen locations. The resulting data set is extremely valuable for assessing the status and trends of river herring. These results help with updating fishery management plans as well as prioritizing efforts for habitat restoration. This level of regional volunteer effort to count fish is unprecedented in this part of the United States and you should all be proud of your work!” Thank you to the many volunteers who counted herring this year!

For more information: For more information, contact Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, APCC’s director of science programs and MassBays regional coordinator for Cape Cod, at [email protected]. Learn more about APCC’s herring count program and see the Cape Cod Summary of Herring Runs 2007-2023 at https://apcc.org/our-work/science/community-science/herring/

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