The Herring Run
Here's the latest from
FRIENDS OF HERRING RIVER
and the HERRING RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT
January 2023
Christa Drew Named Executive Director
“The Board of Friends of Herring River is delighted to introduce and welcome Christa Drew as its new Executive Director. Christa was selected from an esteemed group of candidates for her strong commitment to improving the quality of life in a multitude of ways. We look forward to introducing Christa to the community throughout the year,” says Dale Rheault, Chair, Friend of Herring River.
"Christa is passionate and accomplished in leading groups in finding community-driven solutions, and we are delighted to have her steady hand as we move forward with the Herring River Restoration," says Rheault. 
Drew has spent her career generating high-impact relationships, providing strategic counsel, attaining resources, leading coalitions, and developing programs focused on systems and social change across a variety of sectors such as equitable community development, health, food systems, criminal & social justice and arts & culture.
Drew says, “I have loved the Herring River and its surroundings my whole life. I greatly value the opportunity to help support this dynamic project and to collaborate with such a talented group people. I am excited to lead this steadfast non-profit organization to define and activate its next chapter, including continued delivery of valuable restoration project support,”
She has served as an executive director, community organizer, co-founded two enduring social/criminal justice organizations, worked as an adjunct professor, and consulted. Her consulting clients have included , in part, the Kresge Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and federal agencies such as National Endowment for the Arts and United States Department of Agriculture.
 Drew earned a Master’s in Public Policy & Administration (MPPA) from University of Massachusetts Amherst, on a full fellowship. A Bachelor’s degree in Nonviolent Conflict & Change, from Syracuse University, informed her earlier work in restorative justice, mediation and conflict transformation. Christa recently received a professional certificate in Creative Placemaking to lead community-engaged design through arts and culture. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Worcester Regional Food Hub. She loves living on Cape Cod where she leads an active and artful life with gratitude and joy.
 
Duck Harbor Vegetation Removal Begins
A constant on Cape Cod is a dynamic landscape that is always changing . Anyone who has been to the Duck Harbor area of Wellfleet over the past few years has probably noticed the sands shifting once again. Starting in January of 2021, Duck Harbor has experienced periodic overwash events during the few days each month when the high tides are higher than normal. An overwash occurs when the flow of water breaches over a coastal dune during storm events. Sediment also gets transported and deposited inland in large layers called overwash fans. This influx of salt water and sediment into an area that has been a freshwater (swamp) forest for years resulted in a massive die-off of the freshwater trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that colonized the area following the diking of the Herring River in 1909.
This HAS provided a foreshadowing of what was expected to happen eventually, once tide gates were opened at the new bridge on Chequessett Neck Road. The Herring River Restoration Project was always planning to manage vegetation to avoid having dead plants impede the restoration process. The results of the overwash at Duck Harbor required that the project adjust the timeline.
Vegetation clearing efforts began with help from AmeriCorps Cape Cod, a residential service program, and the Woodchucks, a volunteer group that assists the park and other local entities with vegetation management. These two groups used hand tools to clear shrubs and brush from upland areas along the Herring River on the far eastern edge of Duck Harbor. AmeriCorps Cape Cod crew of 14 members cleared around 20,000 square feet near High Toss Road over a three-day period. The Woodchucks cleared around 43,000 square feet near Bound Brook Island. This effort was accomplished over seven workdays by 37 volunteers who contributed a total of 390 hours to the project. This adds up to over an acre cleared by both groups and will provide access for scientists to collect crucial data needed to develop and evaluate methods for restoring the Herring River floodplain.
Heavy equipment will be required to remove dead trees and other large dead vegetation from the Duck Harbor area,. The Herring River Restoration Project Team and Ducks Unlimited are using funding received through a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to employ a contractor to remove large trees and brush from across the 120-acre Duck Harbor flood plain. The operation is scheduled to begin shortly and will use specialized equipment with large cutting heads to take down dead trees and brush. The dead vegetation will be mulched and spread across the area to promote growth and vitality for the native species. In addition, park scientists will work with the Center for Coastal Studies to monitor changes in Duck Harbor to see how the system responds to vegetation removal. The team is optimistic that they will begin to see native salt marsh vegetation recolonizing the area.
-- By Geoffrey Sanders, Chief of Natural Resource Management and Science, CCNS
Herring Count Workshop
Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. - noon
Wellfleet Public Library
Come enjoy a great talk and for training & signup to participate in
the Visual Herring Count of the Wellfleet Herring Run.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Betsey Gladfelter
Restoration of the Coonamessett River, Falmouth, MA, a town and a commonwealth and a nation partner to “rewild” our wetlands

Dr. Gladfelter will provide an overview of the historical land use on the Coonamessett River - blockages in the 1700 and 1800s for mills, followed by conversion to cranberry bogs in the late 1800s until the early 2000s – and how the stressors to the river and its wetlands through these uses are being mitigated through the restoration activities: barrier removal, sand removal and channel reconstruction. The goals of the project included: a natural, self-sustaining wetland, and improved fisheries; floodplain connectivity; and opportunities for public access and education.
Dr. Gladfelter is a coastal scientist, a Falmouth Conservation Commissioner, and Project Coordinator for the Coonamessett River Restoration Project.
The talk will be followed by information, training and sign up for Wellfleet’s Annual Visual Herring Count and an opportunity to meet Christa Drew, the new Executive Director of Friends of Herring River.
The video below was taken by Alec M. Stansell, an avid trout fisherman at Gull Pond. These Young of the Year were massing in the fall to go through the Sluiceway from Gull Pond into Higgins Pond and begin their journey down the Herring River and, eventually, out to the Gulf of Maine.
First Day Hikes Cape Cod Featured Alice Iacuessa and the Atwood Higgins House
Twenty people joined Alice Iacuessa, Friends of Herring River (FHR) board member, on the January 1, 2023 First Day Hikes Cape Cod walk sponsored by FHR and Barnstable Land Trust. The First Day walkers explored the fascinating history of the Atwood-Higgins House on Bound Brook Island, Wellfleet, the oldest house within the confines of the Cape Cod National Seashore. They discussed the importance of this house and its location on the Herring River. They also learned the story of George Higgins who inherited the property in 1919 and set about restoring it to his idea of an 18th century home. The walk included a tour of the surrounding property as well as a visit inside the house. One of the stopping points was George Higgins’ Summer House on a site that looks down on the Herring River. 
Alice Iacuessa leading a guided walk at the CCNAtwood Higgins property on Bound Brook Island, Wellfleet
John Portnoy, PhD, gave a late fall guided walk “History, Ecology and Imminent Restoration in Wellfleet’s Herring River,” attracting a large group of interested residents and visitors. John, a retired ecologist with the Cape Cod National Seashore and current Board member with Friends of Herring River, has given many walks in the past years. Watch this newsletter and our Facebook page for Spring and Summer walks. Photos by Laurie Warner.
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Together, we can make a difference for our community, for our environment, and for generations to come. 
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