Quick facts
ILF Funding: $525,000
ILF Service Area: Coastal--South Service Area
Project Location: Cranberry Lane, Mashpee, MA (latitude: 41.655789, longitude: -70.455581 )
Property size: 11.7 acres
Project summary
The Town of Mashpee has requested In-Lieu Fee funding for a cranberry bog restoration project. The town recently bought 11.7 acres of land next to Santuit Pond. A farmer grew cranberries on the land before the town bought it. The town wishes to restore 6.5 acres of retired cranberry bogs into freshwater wetlands. The 6.5-acre area consists of two small cranberry bogs separated by a central ditch. The farmer also dug another ditch around the outside of the bogs. The town will use the funds to hire an experienced consultant. The consultant will assess the condition of the site and develop a conceptual design. The town will use most of the remaining funds to finish the design and build the project. They may also use the funds for project monitoring and site stewardship. Restoration may include plugging ditches, removing sand, and roughening bog surfaces. Expected benefits of the project include a more diverse plant community and other habitat features for amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds, and mammals. Restored wetlands may improve water quality in Santuit Pond and downstream areas. Reconnecting the bogs to groundwater will help hold nutrients and flood waters. The Santuit River is important for river herring and other migratory fish. Native Land Conservancy will hold a conservation restriction for the property. It will be open to the public.
Ecological attributes
- Critical spawning habitat (Santuit Pond) with the Santuit River acting as an important migratory pathway for migratory fish like river herring
- BioMap 2 Critical Natural Landscape
- Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program Priority Habitat
- Groundwater Protection District
- Zone 2 area of contribution to public water supply
- State Wildlife Action Plan important habitat for a Species of Greatest Concern (upland pine-oak forest)