Inner Cape Cod Bay

Date: 10/11/85
Total approximate acreage:
2,600 acres
Watershed/subwatershed:
Cape Cod/Namskaket Creek
Municipalities (% of ACEC): Brewster (15%), Eastham (56%), Orleans (29%)

Designation Overview
The Inner Cape Cod Bay ACEC was nom-inated by the Conservation Commissions, Boards of Selectmen, and Planning Boards from the Towns of Brewster, Eastham, and Orleans and was designated as an ACEC in 1985 because of the area’s extraordinary natural resources. The boundary for this ACEC generally follows the 10-foot contour line on the landward side, and the mean low water on the seaward side, and extends from First Encounter Beach south to include Namskaket Creek. Included within the ACEC boundary are hundreds of acres of saltmarsh, highly productive shellfish beds, undisturbed wildlife habitat, barrier beaches, salt ponds, and tidal rivers and creeks. These areas provide flood control, storm damage prevention, improved water quality, and recreation opportunities to surrounding communities.

View full Resource Summary in PDF format (72kb)

What coastal resources are included (partially or entirely) in the ACEC?

• Harbors, Sounds, Bays: Cape Cod Bay (Brewster, Eastham, Orleans)
• Rivers: Boat Meadow (Eastham); Herring (Eastham)
• Lakes, Ponds: Cedar Pond (Orleans); Herring Pond (Eastham)
• Brooks, Creeks: Little Namskaket Creek (Orleans); Namskaket Creek (Brewster, Orleans); Rock Harbor Creek (Eastham, Orleans)
• Great Ponds (ponds > 10 acres): Cedar Pond (Orleans); Herring Pond (Eastham)
• Outstanding Resource Waters (ORWs): All waters including rivers, ponds, and creeks except for Cape Cod Bay. (ORWs are waters, such as public water supplies and vernal pools that are protected by the most stringent standards because they constitute an outstanding resource as determined by their socio-economic, recreational, ecological, and/or aesthetic values).
• Barrier Beaches (Massachusetts Barrier Beach Inventory, CZM, 1982): beach south of Namskaket Creek (Brewster); First Encounter Beach/Hatch Beach (Eh-2), beach south of Herring River (Eh-3), beach south of Boat Meadow River (Eh-4), beach north of Rock Harbor (Eh-5) (Eastham); beach between Rock Harbor and Little Namskaket Creek, Skaket Beach (Ol-2), beach north of Namskaket Creek (Ol-3), beach south of Namskaket Creek (Ol-4, connected to Bt-1) (Orleans)