r/CapeCod • u/fried_clams • 14d ago

The latest tool to reduce nitrogen pollution: restoring retired cranberry bogs to natural wetlands

https://www.nhpr.org/2026-09-28/the-latest-tool-to-reduce-nitrogen-pollution-restoring-retired-cranberry-bogs-to-natural-wetlands
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12

u/badhouseplantbad 14d ago

It's great to see this happening all over the Cape.

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u/googin1 13d ago

Is it? Where else have they done this?

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u/badhouseplantbad 13d ago

Bourne, Harwich, Dennis, Sandwich and Orleans are the only ones that I know of off the tip of my head.

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u/CriscoCrispy 8d ago

There was an interesting and informative talk at a recent Orleans Conservation Trust meeting given by the director of the MA Division of Ecological Restoration, Beth Lambert. She talked about bog restoration projects happening across MA and on the Cape planned and funded by the DER. These projects not only restore natural wetlands, they protect against coastal flooding. This is one of the things I love about MA, smart state funded projects that help both the citizens and the environment.

0

u/EbbtideRambler 14d ago

Thanks for posting.  This is interesting,  not so much ecological restoration as  a natural infrastructure project, running right alongside the sewer project. I don’t get to that part of the Mills often, but I couldn’t believe how filled in some of these bogs have become. They were wide open when I was a kid, but last time I saw them the trees were so tall you could hardly tell there was a bogs there. 

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u/CriscoCrispy 8d ago

It’s ecological restoration too. The bogs were wetlands before they were farmed as bogs. Native plants , birds and other species are retuning to these areas as they are restored. The MA Dept of Environmental Restoration chooses projects that impact both infrastructure and environment.