HARWICH – The Harwich Conservation Commission is holding a public hearing with a possible vote on four different options for the Herring River Conservation Area Bog.
The Town of Harwich acquired the bog in 1993 for conservation purposes and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Harwich Conservation Commission.
Since then, it has been leased multiple times to private cranberry farmers, however was abandoned in 2015.
Option one for the bog is ecological restoration, where the bog surface and stream channel will be reconstructed for the purpose of putting the land back to the condition it was in before being altered to produce cranberries.
This approach would likely require hydrologic, soil and flora and fauna studies that would be done by an outside consultant, said the Commission.
Heavy machinery would also be required to break up the cranberry mat and restore the native seeds.
Option two would see the bog restored via gradual naturalization through active plan control.
Sections of the bog would become wetland while others become upland forest naturally.
The approach would be low-cost and could be achieved with initial funding from town resources, grants, and seasonal labor contributions from Conservation Commission members, as well as the Town’s Conservation, Natural Resources and Public Works department.
Option three would allow short-term management of the bogs in the public’s interest to provide some farming activity.
The farming would be cooperative with the development of the Town and educational partnerships to explore concepts for the next five years, and no chemical applications would not be allowed.
Option four would see the cranberry bog go back to farm leasing, returning to bid solicitation prepared in 2017-2018 to consider if private cranberry farming could be compatible with the interests of the Town and management of the bog.
The hearing will be held on November 4 at 6 pm.
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