Learn How Park Scientists Brought a Salt Marsh Back to Life - Hatches Harbor - Ten Years and Counting

Date: August 4, 2009
Contact: Jody Anastasio, North District Interpreter, 508-487-1256

Salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet, providing essential nutrients and habitat for marine life, but human development presents a constant threat to these vulnerable coastal landscapes. Hear how a formerly disturbed salt marsh in Provincetown has become an environmental success story in “Hatches Harbor Restoration: 10 Years and Counting!”

On Sunday, August 23^rd, at 7:00 PM, join Cape Cod National Seashore Ecologist Stephen Smith to learn how the park conducted extensive research in order to design and implement a restoration plan for a 200-acre salt marsh in Provincetown. In 1930, an earthen dike cut off tidal flow to 90 acres of Hatches Harbor, disturbing the natural balance in this important estuary. Since tidal flow was restored in 1999, native plants and animals have started to come back, revitalizing the outer reaches of the marsh. Join Smith to hear how progress at Hatches Harbor has contributed to the development of other restoration projects on the Cape. The program is free and open to the public.

Stephen Smith is a plant ecologist at Cape Cod National Seashore’s North Atlantic Coastal Laboratory, part of the Atlantic Research Center in North Truro. Located on the grounds of the Highlands Center at Cape Cod National Seashore, the center fosters research that contributes to park management decisions and provides educational opportunities to scientists, students and the general public.

Every Sunday in July and August, at 7:00 PM, join a special guest for an in-depth look at the history, culture and nature of Cape Cod in a one-hour program. Come each week to explore a range of topics, from reptiles and amphibians to ocean currents. The programs are sponsored by the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore. All presentations will be held the Province Lands Visitor Center and are free, accessible and open to the public.

IF YOU GO:

The Province Lands Visitor Center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Staff members are available to answer questions, assist with activity planning, and provide hiking and bicycling trail information in person, or by phone at [phone]. The visitor center features museum exhibits, orientation films, and a bookstore with interpretive items such as books, maps, games and puzzles. The 360-degree rooftop observation deck provides views of the surrounding dunes and sea. A listing of all of the national seashore’s programs is available at the two seashore visitor centers, or on-line at www.nps.gov/caco.

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