Friends of Herring River
Wellfleet and Truro, Massachusetts

Herring River Restoration Committee

Note: The photo above is not a photo of the Herring River Restoration Committee. Rather it is a photo from the archives of the Wellfleet Historical Society when the initial groundbreaking took place. It must have been a grand affair.

The Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC), a multi-agency group, was appointed by the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Towns of Wellfleet and Truro in November 2007. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which established the Committee endorsed the Conceptual Restoration Plan, prepared by the Herring River Technical Committee, and enabled additional planning, funding and environmental compliance steps to produce a detailed restoration plan. Click here for a copy of the MOU.

The detailed plan, when completed, will be ratified by the parties under a final MOU for project implementation.

The Herring River Restoration Committee recognizes the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of restoring this tidally restricted and degraded estuarine system, and is currently engaged in developing a comprehensive restoration plan for the estuary, building upon work completed by the preceding Town-appointed Herring River Technical Committee (HRTC).

The restoration project EIS/EIR will identify restoration actions and adaptive management strategies so changes to floodplain characteristics can be monitored, and adjustments made, if unanticipated and/or unacceptable changes occur.

The Committee consists of the following members.

Gary Joseph (Town of Wellfleet and Committee Chair)
Hillary Greenberg (Town of Wellfleet Health and Conservation Agent and Deputy Wellfleet Town Representative)
Steve Block (NOAA Restoration Center)
Eric Derleth (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
Charlene Greenhalgh (representing Gary Palmer, Town of Truro)
Tim Smith (Restoration Ecologist, Cape Cod National Seashore)
Stephen Spear (USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service)
Hunt Durey (Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration)

APCC Role in the Herring River Restoration Project

The Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC) contracted with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) to perform the services of Project Coordinator to assist with development of an Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIS/EIR) for the Herring River Restoration Project .

APCC has had an ongoing interest in the restoration of the Herring River. APCC partnered with Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, Massachusetts Bays Program and the Massachusetts Wetland Restoration Program to launch a salt marsh volunteer training and monitoring program for the Cape, including the Herring River. In response to a request from the HRRC, APCC assembled a qualified team to perform the responsibilities of the Project Coordinator for the EIS/EIR process, such as preparation of requests for proposals, selecting and managing consultants, tracking budgets, coordinating public meetings and developing work plans.

In this effort, the Project Coordinator Team serves as the primary organizer for the HRRC and provides a diverse range of administrative, technical, and facilitative services. APCC’s team is comprised of Margo Fenn, former Executive Director of the Cape Cod Commission, Maggie Geist, Executive Director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, APCC Senior Staff Scientist and Mass Bays Program Regional Coordinator, Tara Nye, APCC Staff Biologist and GIS Technician, and Kat Beauchamp, APCC Grants Manager. Margo L. Fenn serves as the leader of the APCC Project Coordinator team.

News - HRRC 2010 Major Accomplishments

The Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC) is overseeing the development of an Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIS/EIR) in order to restore tidal flow to the river. During 2010 HRRC has undertaken several key steps in the EIS/EIR process, including:

Refining the Project Purpose and Need Statement
Developing a range of Project Alternatives (i.e. different approaches to achieving restoration goals)
Developing scopes of work and consultant contracts for key background analyses, such as a Cultural Resources Analysis (Section 106, Phase 1A Study)
Refined Hydrodynamic Modeling and Preliminary Sediment Transport Analysis
An Analysis of the Mill Creek Basin (including the feasibility of diking)
A Systematic Inventory of Low-lying Private Properties

The Committee has worked with the Friends of Herring River to provide public information and outreach about the project through public meetings, publications and briefings for local, state and federal officials.

The Committee has also worked with the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club to explore ways to mitigate potential impacts to its golf course including golf course filling and reconfiguration.

The Committee meets quarterly with the Technical Working Group, established under the 2008 MEPA Certificate to identify and address environmental management and permitting issues.

Margo L. Fenn serves as the leader of the APCC Project Coordinator team which has the mission to assist with development of an Environmental Impact Statement/Report (EIS/EIR) for the Herring River Restoration Project.