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Earth Day dedication celebrates protection of Plymouth cranberry land and restoration of Eel River

(L-R) Mark Primack, Wildlands Trust; Jane and Dick Wadsworth, cranberry growers; Cecil Currin, NRCS State Conservationist; Rick DeVergilio, NRCS State Resource Conservationist; Jeff LaFleur, Director, Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association.(April 19, 2006) PLYMOUTH, Mass. – A partnership of local and federal agencies and non-profit organizations marked Earth Day 2006 by announcing the protection of 95 acres of open space in Plymouth that will be open to the public and known as the Eel River Preserve.

A dedication ceremony was held at a new trailhead parking area that will provide public access to the protected area, which includes former cranberry bogs through which the Eel River flows. The wetland and river will be protected and restored through the federal Wetlands Reserve Program.

Cranberry grower Ashley Holmes (seated) helps his grandson Bradley Holmes cut the ribbon as Jane Wadsworth looks on and state Senator Vinny deMacedo assists.Plymouth's Community Preservation Committee, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association announced the purchase 58 acres of cranberry bogs and surrounding uplands from the Phoenix Cranberry Corporation, which abuts a 37-acre town holding that was acquired with CPA funds from cranberry grower Ashley Holmes last year.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is contributing more than $300,000 toward conservation easements, construction for the restoration of the stream and surrounding wetlands, and other associated costs. The Nature Conservancy provided $50,000 towards the purchase, thanks to gifts from the Hornblower Foundation, the Sheehan Family Foundation and local residents.

Wetlands Reserve Program easement boundary sign"We're pleased that our Plymouth property will be protected in perpetuity," said Jane Wadsworth, who's father Ed Bartholomew owns Phoenix Cranberry Company.  "By selling this low producing bog we will be able to enhance our other cranberry farms in Carver and Wareham.  We plan to continue our family heritage of being environmentally sound cranberry growers.”  

Phoenix Cranberry Corporation’s willingness to sell for conservation significantly aided the efforts to preserve the property. A conservation restriction on the upland portions of the property will be held by The Wildlands Trust, with the USDA-NRCS holding a Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement on the bogs and streamside areas.

Cranberry grower Ashley Holmes (front) and grandson Bradley listen to the dedication ceremony along with growers Dick and Jane Wadsworth (standing) and Jeff LaFleur, Director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association (rear).Conservation restrictions permanently protect a property’s natural assets by limiting certain uses, such as the right to subdivide or develop, and the WRP easement forever preserves all wetland areas on the land from alteration or disturbance.

Through WRP, NRCS also provides technical and financial support to help landowners with their restoration efforts. To be eligible for WRP, land must be restorable, suitable for wildlife benefits, and must have had an agricultural history.

“I’m very pleased to see this project come to fruition. With the help of the CCCGA, we were able to use a national farm program to protect and restore this important resource,” said Cecil B. Currin, NRCS State Conservationist for Massachusetts. “And we commend the cranberry growers who voluntarily partnered with the town to protect and restore these wetlands.”

Eel River Watershed president, Mettie Whipple, said, “In enabling the purchase of these properties with Community Preservation Act funds, the town took a significant step towards protecting wildlife habitat and groundwater quality in the Eel River Watershed. Creating the Eel River Headwaters Preserve will give Plymouth’s citizens an opportunity to experience our watershed in a new way.”

“This project shows the real power and creativity that partnerships can bring to conservation,” said Mark Primack, Executive Director of the Wildlands Trust. “We had a landowner willing to be innovative, two organizations working together from the first instant, a strong municipal partner, and an engaged federal component. Tom Maloney of The Nature Conservancy was an especially persistent project manager.”

The purchase ensures the permanent protection of the source waters of the Eel River, and will help restore populations of brook trout in the future. The town is also working with its acquisition partners on efforts to restore this important headwaters area. In addition, the property is contiguous to the conservation commission-owned Russell Mill Pond Preserve. Connecting tracts of protected land is an important step in maintaining a healthy, functioning landscape.

“Protection of this property preserves more than brook trout habitat and community character,” said Wayne Klockner, Massachusetts State Director for The Nature Conservancy. “Keeping natural areas intact will also help Plymouth’s drinking water stay clean and in good supply.”

The Plymouth Community Preservation Committee recommended these properties for conservation not only for their importance in protecting the Eel River and the aquifer, but also because they provide an important link in the “Wishbone” trail system. The Wishbone, a strategy for preserving open space recommended in the Town’s ENSR report, describes two swaths of green space starting at Miles Standish Forest resembling a wishbone. The southern arm will lead from the Forest to Ellisville Harbor, the northern, from the Forest to Downtown Plymouth and the Harbor. The Eel River Headwaters Preserve will be part of the northern link.

More views of the Eel River Preserve

Click the pictures below to view a larger image. To download the high resolution version, right click an image, then select "Save Target As."
A cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass. A cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass. A cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass.
This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).
This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). This cranberry bog at the Eel River Preserve, Plymouth, Mass., will be restored to a natural wetland through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).
 
photos by Diane Baedeker Petit, Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS Massachusetts

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