Herring River Restoration Project

I believe the Herring River Restoration Project should not have been undertaken because the potential harms (some of them certain) considerably outweigh the potential benefits. The evidence supporting that assessment is compiled on this website.

The cure is sometimes worse than the disease, which, in this case, is that the Herring River's water quality does not meet state or federal standards. Major downsides of the cure (restoring tides in the estuary) are:

• Tidal restoration will disrupt a stable (albeit flawed) freshwater ecosystem and result in the displacement or death of thousands of birds, rodents, and other animals that are freshwater dwellers. (See Timely relocation or death.)
• The daily inundation of the Herring River wetlands with seawater will kill off all freshwater vegetation – grasses, bushes, and trees. At best, cleaning up the mess will disrupt recreational use of the river. At worst, the transition from a freshwater to a saltwater ecosystem will not proceed as anticipated. (See Sesuit.)
• The restoration will create ebb tides in the estuary that do not now exist. Silt flowing downstream into Wellfleet Harbor on ebb tides may threaten the town's vital shellfish industry. (See Oysters.)
• Harm to human stakeholders is nearly certain. (See Planners and Normal Accidents.)
• The financial liability for Wellfleet taxpayers is considerable. (See Planners and Henchy and Corbo and Truro.)
• Proven solutions that would be less invasive (e.g., dredging) were never considered.

Finally, the process will stretch out for decades; perhaps half a century. Considerable disruption will occur during the interval between death of the freshwater vegetation and growth of salt-tolerant replacement (even if that replacement proceeds without a hitch). The project's vegetation management plan calls for the use of "chain saws, mowers, brush hogs, or larger, wheeled or treaded machines that cut and chip" to remove the freshwater vegetation killed by the tidal restoration. This activity will disrupt recreational use of the river.