The primary interest of the Cape Cod National Seashore in the Herring River Restoration Project appears to be its mandate to clean up the polluted Herring River.
- The National Seashore's superintendent disclosed during a private meeting in June 2019 that the Seashore's major interest in the project is to clean up the polluted Herring River.
- That goal has been facilitated by a former employee of the National Park Service, who has been influential as a driving force within the Friends of Herring River, which is the project's public relations arm as well as the project manager.
- The National Seashore has no direct responsibility for funding the project, which is accomplished through grant applications prepared by the Friends of Herring River. The grant money is awarded to the town of Wellfleet (as a fiscal intermediary), which disburses the awards to the Friends (as the project manager) to pay contractors for work on the project.
- The National Seashore's primary administrative responsibility appears to be sending two representatives to meetings of the Herring River Restoration Project's Executive Council and publicly expressing its support for the project.
- The National Seashore will probably continue collecting information on the health of the Herring River, as it has for decades, and make that a part of the project's monitoring program.
The above facts suggest that the Cape Cod National Seashore is a mostly passive partner in the Herring River Restoration Project. Although it has little financial or administrative burden, the Herring River Restoration Project is expected to satisfy its mandate to clean up the Herring River.
See Wellfleet
See Friends of Herring River
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