Restorations Securing Cape Cod's Future

Previously, LCTV has looked closer at several of the efforts to turn back time on Cape Cod’s original flora and fauna. This week in our ongoing coverage of eco-restorations, we’re looking regionally at how the restorations ripple effects trickle into the local economy and future generations. We are also asking about the policies: where are the challenges and the barriers? And why is the drive to nurture our nature so strong on Cape Cod?

What are ecological restorations?

Cape Cod is not only surrounded by water, but connected by it. From rivers to ponds,  salt marshes and wetlands, the Cape's migrating species and natural features are connected in what the Division of Ecological Restorations call one hydrological system. Unique to Cape Cod, this makes ecological restorations especially beneficial here, where a multitude of restoration projects are underway, and many more are in the planning stage. What does it mean for our region in terms of economy and future generations? The DER has evidence its all connected.

Why are ecological restorations important?

"There's no doubt that healthy, healthy fisheries, healthy rivers, and healthy and intact salt marshes attract visitors and that results in economic benefits for the communities," says Beth Lambert, Director of DER. She says the dollars brought in following restorations can be traced. Watch the video to find out how many jobs are created or maintained with eco-restorations.

What are the challenges for restorations?

One common challenge for restorations is fragmentation. An area in need of restoring could be divided by different land owners, town borders and development, but herring migrating from the Atlantic upstream to play in freshwater ponds, don't care about such confinements. Neither do salt marshes cut off by heavily trafficked roads or water streams halted by narrow culverts. Cape Cod stands out not only in number of restorations, but also in the knowledge accumulated and the strong leadership towns and nonprofits are showing in collaborating with one another to reach a mutual goal: connectivity.

How is Cape Cod unique in restoring its nature?

"We're working with the same organization on multiple projects, and there's some towns that we've worked with multiple times," says Lambert when asked how they create links between the projects. "It results in organizations and towns on the Cape becoming extremely familiar with and having both the knowledge and the skills to advance these projects themselves. So we really see many organizations on the Cape in some ways becoming a hub of restoration knowledge and expertise."

What does the regulation say?

One of those hubs is the region-wide Association to Preserve Cape Cod.  Restorations Program Manager April Wobst says their greatest challenge at the moment is regulations. "We are in a great position in the state of Massachusetts that we have really protective wetlands regulations.  However, it does also create a little bit of a challenge in terms of getting through the process and approvals through state and federal agencies for permitting a restoration project to be done." For larger projects, Wobst says permitting can take up to 18 months, twelve if you are lucky. It is time consuming and costly, and she hopes advocates within the state and regulations updates will see the permitting phase streamlined. More local restorations mean greater regional benefits. Watch the video to hear April Wobst and Beth Lambert explain further.