'Powerful resources.' Marstons Mills cranberry bogs to return to wetlands with $1.6M grant

MARSTONS MILLS — For now, cranberries are growing in the shallow, as-yet still dry, basins of antique bogs spreading out on both sides of Bog Road in Marstons Mills. Soon, the harvest will begin.

It will be among the last for this particular set of bogs at the headwaters of the Marstons Mills River. Their future looks, instead, a lot like an adjacent marsh, where a lone swan languidly paddled in a pond Tuesday.

"That was a bog that restored itself," said Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Executive Director Zee Crocker as he walked along one of the grassy, bogside access roads.

He was joined Tuesday by Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and other representatives of the agency, members of the coalition, the Barnstable Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, and others. Town Manager Mark Ells also attended.

Tepper took the opportunity to award $1,615,869 toward the Marstons Mills River ecological restoration project that aims to reduce nitrogen flow downriver and ultimately improve water quality in the Three Bays Estuary, as well as restore the habitat to its natural state and offer passive recreation and education opportunities.

What will the money be used for?

The money will go toward buying 78 acres of cranberry bogs and associated uplands that will be actively restored to wetlands — 64 of those acres, including 47 acres on one side of Bog Road and 17 acres on the other side, were purchased at the end of June and were the focus on Tuesday's tour.

According to the state environmental agency, the land has been cultivated for 150 years. Plans call for restoring the area into functional wetlands "with many water quality, habitat, and other benefits."

"These are such powerful resources to actually reduce nitrogen," said Crocker. "We're hoping, in time, to get 80 to 100 acres protected and restored."

It's an important effort to address downstream nitrogen loading, primarily from septic systems, into the Cape's imperiled estuaries and embayments. Crocker said cranberry bog restoration work can also help lessen the impacts of climate change, by absorbing flood waters as well as carbon.

"It's wonderful when you have an opportunity like this to preserve and to protect our environmental and open space," Ells said. He offered thanks to the state on behalf of the town.

More: In West Yarmouth, Bayview Bogs restoration is moving forward. What's in the works?

What is the wetland restoration project about?

According to the project description, the upcoming wetland restoration in the Bog Road area "will be designed to maximize the ability of the system to reduce nitrogen pollution and transport downriver to the Three Bays estuary."

That estuary is counted among the Cape's estuaries most severely impacted by nitrogen pollution. "It's a really big problem," said Crocker, adding "being able to treat this water is absolutely critical to the equation."

It's estimated that 40% of the excess nitrogen load into the estuary passes through the bogs.  The coalition is working with the state Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration, The Nature Conservancy, the town of Barnstable, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Native Lands Conservancy, and many other partners on the project.

What other towns received a grant?

Funding comes from the state's cranberry bog renovation grant program. It's the first year grants have been distributed through the program — the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust also received a grant for $179,745 for its Flag Swamp Bog conservation project.

Tepper praised the partnerships among local environmental organizations to pursue the upcoming restoration.

"We're just thrilled to be a part of it. This is a new program for us, and we're hoping that showing projects like this will allow us to expand the program and bring in more projects," she said.

Addressing water quality issues on the Cape is a top concern for her agency, she said.

"We know that the issue is crucial and that we need to address it in partnership with everybody here," Tepper said.

She also recognized the importance of taking steps to address climate change.

“It’s critical to invest in these open space acquisition projects that will ultimately make our communities more resilient," she said.

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world. Reach her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: 150 years of cranberries in Marstons Mills bog to return to wetland