Designation Date: 4/24/89
Total Approximate Acreage: 1850 acres
Watershed(s):
Cape Cod (Buzzards Bay)
Municipalities: Bourne

Resource Summary
The Bourne Back River ACEC, just south of the Cape Cod Canal, possesses outstanding natural resources. Most of the marshes, tidal flats, and freshwater wetlands within this ecosystem are unaltered and undeveloped, allowing them to function at their maximum capacity as habitat areas, and nursery and spawning grounds, and in the case of barrier beaches, for the purposes of storm damage prevention. The estuarine/saltmarsh ecosystem, including the headwater wetland areas, supports a wide variety of shellfish, finfish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, within an extraordinary spectrum of habitat types. The Back River Estuary was designated an Estuary of National Significance by the US EPA in 1988, and is part of the Ocean Sanctuaries of Massachusetts. The area contains at least three known state-listed rare and endangered species, including osprey, spotted turtle, and diamondback terrapin.

The area is used extensively by recreational and educational groups, including the local school system, the Northeast Marine Environmental Institute, and the Woods Hole research community.

Water Bodies included (partially or entirely) in the ACEC

• Harbors, Sounds, Bays: Phinneys Harbor
• Rivers: Back River
• Lakes, Ponds: Clay Pond, Eel Pond, Mill Pond
• Brooks, Creeks: unnamed

Barrier Beaches included in the ACEC

• Rocky Point Recurved Barrier Spit (Bo-2)