Friends of Herring RiverWellfleet & Truro, Massachusetts

Annual Meeting

August 21, 2012

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions

• Business Meeting

– Election of Directors and Officers

– Treasurer’s Report

• Return of the Tide

• History of Human Use of the Herring River Estuary

• Monitoring the Spring Herring Run

• Discussion

Business Meeting

Board of Directors

• Barbara Brennessel

• Lisbeth Wiley

Chapman **

• Debby Freeman **

• Barbara E. Gray

• Jeff Hughes

• Gary Joseph **

• Don Palladino

• John Portnoy **

• Robert Prescott

• John Riehl

• Lynn Southey,

Wellfleet Open

Space Committee

Liaison

**Current term expires –

candidates for re-election

Business Meeting

Election of Officers

Proposed Slate of Officers

• President – Don Palladino

• Vice President – Barbara E. Gray

• Treasurer – John Riehl

• Clerk – Deborah Freeman

Friends of Herring River

Mission

• Conduct education, research and public awareness activities

• Coordinate public outreach

• Raise funds

Promote the restoration and ongoing environmental

vitality of the Herring River Estuary

Friends of Herring RiverWellfleet and Truro, Massachusetts

What What can you do?

• Become a member

• Subscribe to newsletter

• Share ideas

• Volunteer

• Visit our website n

www.friendsofherringriver.org

you do?

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions

• Business Meeting

– Election of Directors and Officers

– Treasurer’s Report

• Return of the Tide

• History of Human Use of the Herring River Estuary

• Monitoring the Spring Herring Run

• Discussion

Backup Slides

1908 Salt Marsh

• Declared shared commitment to

investigate restoration of tide to the

Herring River

• Established the Herring River

Stakeholders Committee to identify

interests that could be affected by tidal

restoration

• Established the Herring River

Technical Committee (HRTC) to

assess the feasibility of restoring tidal

flow.

Development of the Herring River Restoration Project

1. September 2005: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

between the Town of Wellfleet and Cape Cod National Seashore:

Development of the Herring River Restoration Project

2. November 2007: Conceptual Restoration Plan for the Herring

River Tidal Restoration Project developed by the Herring River

Technical Committee completed and approved

• Integrated technical

information and analyses with

issues raised by the Stakeholders

Committee

• Concluded that restoration

was feasible and in the public

interest

• Available on Town of Wellfleet,

CCNS and Friends of Herring

River web sites

Development of the Herring River Restoration Project

3. November 2007: Memorandum of Understanding, MOUII,

among the Towns of Wellfleet, Truro and the Cape Cod National

Seashore

• Declared shared commitment to

restore tide to the Herring River

• Established the Herring River

Restoration Committee (HRRC)

• Tasked the HRRC with using local,

state, and federal planning processes

to produce a draft EIS/EIR and

restoration plan for the Herring

River

Herring River Restoration Committee

• Comply with Massachusetts Environmental

Policy Act (MEPA) / National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) and Cape Cod Commission

Regional Policy Plan

• Proactively address overall environmental and

social concerns and specific impacts of selected

alternatives

• Produce a draft EIS/EIR using local, state, and

federal planning processes

Herring River Restoration Committee

• Gary Joseph (Town of Wellfleet and Committee Chair)

• Hillary Greenberg (Town of Wellfleet)

• Charlene Greenhalgh (Town of Truro)

• Steve Block (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

• Eric Derleth (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

• Tim Smith (Cape Cod National Seashore)

• Stephen Spear (Natural Resource Conservation Service)

• Hunt Durey (Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration)

• Margo Fenn (Association to Preserve Cape Cod)

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

1969

Purpose: "to make sure that agencies fully consider

the environmental costs and benefits of their proposed

actions before they make any decision to undertake

those actions"

NEPA is a decision making process and tool

Requires careful, complete, and analytic study of the

impacts of any proposal that has the potential to affect

the environment; requires study of alternatives to the

proposed action

Wellfleet 1887

Wellfleet

Center

Ryder

Beach

Pamet

Point

Dump

Chequesset

Neck

Herring

Pond

Original vs. current opening (since 1909)

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Tid

e h

eig

ht

m-N

GV

D

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Tidal Range ~ 2.5 meters Tidal Range ~ 0.5 meters

Harbor Diked River

Natural marsh below the Dike

“Marsh” above the Dike

Ele

va

tion

(m

eter

s N

GV

D)

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

DIK

E

High tide

High tide

Low tide

Low tide

Herring River Dike Effects on Tidal Range, Sediment

and Vegetation

Wellfleet Harbor

Gull

Pond

Mill Creek

Pole Dike Creek

Duck Harbor

Bound Brook

Herring

Pond

Wellfleet Center

1908 Salt Marsh

DIKE

1909

2008 Salt Marsh

Exotic

Phragmites

Native

salt marshDike

Cape Cod Bay

Effects of tidal restriction on Herring River fish

Species River mouth Just above dike High Toss Rd

FOURSPINE STICKLEBACK X X

MUMMICHOG X X

STRIPED KILLIFISH X X

NORTHERN PIPEFISH X X

WHITE PERCH X X

BLUEBACK HERRING X X

ALEWIFE X X

HICKORY SHAD X

AMERICAN EEL X X

ATLANTIC MENHADEN X X

TIDEWATER SILVERSIDE X

ATLANTIC SILVERSIDE X X

WINTER FLOUNDER X

BLUEFISH X

ATLANTIC MACKEREL X

CHAIN PICKEREL X

PUMPKINSEED X

GOLDEN SHINER X

Tidal restoration for Herring River =

The controlled removal of tidal restrictions to allow

incremental restoration of: tides, water quality and

plant and animal communities.

Ecological benefitsIncreased sediment deposition

(to counter sea-level rise)

Removal of exotic plants

Re-establishment of salt-marsh plants

Increased tidal flushing

Improved water-column aeration

Elimination of acidity/metals

Improved migratory fish habitat

Restored export to near-shore waters

Social benefitsRestored pollution control

Restored public access, recreation & education

Boating

Birding

Fin- and shellfishing

Restored harvestable resources

Finfish

Shellfish

Improved shellfish water quality

Reduced mosquitoes

Existing

Conditions

Modeled Extent

of Salinity

Restored

Conditions

High

Toss

Road