[SEMCO] News about the Herring River Restoration

Tue Aug 28 16:08:55 EDT 2018

The Herring Run
News and Information about the
HERRING RIVER RESTORATION
August 2018
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Above, interns from Wheaton College in Norton Massachusetts, Jennifer Loveland-Rose
and Rachel Crafford, along with Friends of Herring River volunteer, Steve Bliss,
 have been busy monitoring diamondback terrapin activity in the Herring River. Every
day at hide tide, they have been counting terrapins on both sides of the Chequessett
Neck Road dike. Each day, the interns also walk from the Dike to the path to the
 Tavern site to look for terrapins and mark their nests.   This activity is part
 of a long term monitoring project to assess the use of this habitat by terrapins
prior to the restoration of the Herring River. The expectation is that our Wellfleet
terrapins, a species listed as "threatened" in Massachusetts, will greatly benefit
from the restoration.
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Thanks to all participants in this summer's Herring River field trips. Above, Ecologist
John Portnoy explains the dire consequences of tidal restriction on estuaries such
as Herring River.
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Check out these videos starring
the
Herring River

If you're wondering what's wrong with the river and why it needs to be restored,
 this video will answer those questions plus why healthy salt marshes are so important.
Click the link below and enjoy!
Herring River Estuary: Ecological Insights [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001wXuCM87Hs_4EqhXfHI-ffpkNndEoKozzyll1sP-kiFGoU-Vds34O6u5OmoAX1MW2hvYZuYQZETVzaglI3ro5115bp4-A47iu345pbnDiYeEu-rMuEbQLHQvzTxZ2vCNTR2wcwXsXBthYgK-TE7T_eSjktZeNaUO5uUHUO17xCRkHfhoUutFKWE1Ifpu5C5rCGnQqf_a9uuclVAeRIcsT-WPJbCUUUcnLhqCjzVwER4bDQi1JCiUD0-07xoK7EH58pBkV57QLbZ_Ez3oB_yJ3mGipKnAlVFB0Ltl-2sAtsc_6t80nTdF6SKF-n8rkmvKAm2c9tgrm2EZXBeADWjpBQguP64mJGb_8T4hol9C7FbI=&c=YOwwpNc97913a-UM67LWO9iKdpGcMOkPq32lCIIXYMQxR-ZehR3EmQ==&ch=OBHhba4j6hn8o3hAd_AmeA-RrscekSH07aTANacrszFby69sqtzTzw==]
In case you missed our first video, you can watch it here. This video presents an
overview of the Project and why restoration is so important.
Herring River Estuary:  Restoring an Ecological Treasure [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001wXuCM87Hs_4EqhXfHI-ffpkNndEoKozzyll1sP-kiFGoU-Vds34O6mMdi5ZzZOd_Nvg7yc3C_eDaUzmkfcgmLrlqynacHEwiiNvbbR9GT36AaqLsu996Pg57yo7w5TyeT9ySInwfQLLfQHb2N1bIDSA3g7qSYGWAdHCzAfY_oK_2s3Mz1KZw6_ARda32_j1iofSQnrjXpt1TDQcyl3M9VP9lo3qk94L-4x9tgm8mEPiokUCHUEHML5EEpfRl67h2OJ1TBiKR2LveO_MaJkAnofpq_8-rgzVHlbKg9CHGSnSzzCqKEpMVQJ7Sk2ODrB8ZwPPDSVhswt-ZeWcJ_NvlS8o47BwUg5WgepQFB7SgVac=&c=YOwwpNc97913a-UM67LWO9iKdpGcMOkPq32lCIIXYMQxR-ZehR3EmQ==&ch=OBHhba4j6hn8o3hAd_AmeA-RrscekSH07aTANacrszFby69sqtzTzw==]
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Join Us on the Lookout for Diamondback Terrapin Hatchlings in the
Herring River Estuary

The Herring River Estuary is a prime location for diamondback terrapins, a state-listed
turtle species.   However, terrapin habitat is limited to the salt marsh area of
 the estuary, which has been reduced as a result of tidal restrictions imposed by
the Herring River Dike. Barbara Brennessel, Professor Emerita, Wheaton College, 
along with Wheaton interns and other volunteers, has been monitoring terrapin nesting
on Great and Griffin islands and along the "Gut," which connects the islands for
 seven years.

This field trip will take us to the Herring River Estuary where we will assess the
success of terrapin nests, laid in June and July.  The walk is about 2-3 miles round
trip and will take about 2 hours.

Meet in the Great Island Parking Lot, September 13th at 9am.
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Dissolved Oxygen Stress Persists in Herring River

The surface waters of Wellfleet's Herring River are under constant dissolved-oxygen
stress because the Chequessett Neck dike blocks the supply of oxygen-rich seawater
that is needed to balance the huge oxygen demand of organic matter accumulated of
2000 years of marsh and peat development. Under natural, undiked conditions the 
oxygen demand of a salt-marsh estuary's decomposing organic matter is met by the
 infusion of aerobic seawater - every 12 hours, i.e. during every high tide.   The
graph above from early this August typifies the Herring River's oxygen status during
the warm summer months, when oxygen demand is very high. Note the drastic fluctuations
each day. The ultimate cause of these fluctuations is the high oxygen demand of 
peat coupled with the very limited inflow of aerobic seawater from Cape Cod Bay.
 Dissolved oxygen is high during the day, due to photosynthetic oxygen production,
but plummets at night when aquatic animals, plants and microbes are all respiring,
i.e. consuming oxygen. According to the EPA, dissolved oxygen concentrations below
4.8 mg/L are chronically stressful to aquatic life; concentrations below 2.3 mg/L
acutely limit juvenile and adult aquatic animal survival. It's evident that fish
 and other aquatic fauna often experience acutely stressful conditions in the diked
Herring River. Conditions are worst during cloudy and rainy periods, with more runoff
of organic matter and less light to fuel photosynthetic oxygen production, e.g. 
10-13 August in the data set above. In the past, rainy periods in summer often resulted
in the complete depletion of dissolved oxygen in the river's main stem and the total
die-off of emigrating juvenile herring. The return of daily tides to Herring River
will result in higher and much more stable dissolved oxygen concentration.
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For more information visit: http://www.friendsofherringriver.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001wXuCM87Hs_4EqhXfHI-ffpkNndEoKozzyll1sP-kiFGoU-Vds34O6mFcgq2OBx_qpwqe4c-ts389JiwS6NV-uWRkprPGp497QhrkohfZ6a5GE_dSy5LdOzsBkOr680bLiKzr1T0DnXnJ_tba-Gu1gEKao7TXhQFHs3FXvpgvmT_QMHlbkfzq2WgS1jfKH6xhxr2IboEZjYtAul2ctkEk4VeKDbaysC2VVTt8SjGcP0qJXThDg194Cz5cfAccbBwW_V7XdQJIlYNI_Y2cPwhDdtu-B8XrznVkvCcdPQIfI09yAExjjErieR89yQjSQPUzGZ4gucGuNfDcGMuwdFosTw==&c=YOwwpNc97913a-UM67LWO9iKdpGcMOkPq32lCIIXYMQxR-ZehR3EmQ==&ch=OBHhba4j6hn8o3hAd_AmeA-RrscekSH07aTANacrszFby69sqtzTzw==]
Or email us at: info at herringriver.org

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Friends of Herring River | P.O. Box 565 | South Wellfleet | MA | 02663
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