Friends of Herring River
1580 Route 6, #5
Wellfleet, MA 02667
(508) 214-0656
info@herringriver.org
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Restoration Area Maps
![1887 Map with additional location names RESTORATION AREA PHASE I, POSSIBLE PHASE 2](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1887-Map-with-additional-location-names-scaled.jpg)
An 1887 map of western Wellfleet showing the Herring River Estuary more than twenty years before the original 1909 dike was built. Note that the river still had its naturally meandering course, that Duck Harbor was still open to the Bay, that Eel Creek (now Pole Dike Creek) nearly joined the harbor near the current location of Howland Lane and the Wellfleet Public Library, and that Mill Creek (just north of Chequessett Neck) fed a large area of salt marsh.
![1887 Map Annotated - cropped map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1887-Map-Annotated-cropped.jpg)
Some of the early bridges, dikes, and roads built by the Town of Wellfleet to provide overland access to settlements on Griffiths Island (now Griffin Island), Myricks Island (now Merrick Island), Bound Brook Island, and Coles Neck. Note the track of the Cape Cod Railroad, which was extended into Wellfleet in 1869.
![Channelized river - old map map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Channelized-river-old-map.jpg)
The dike was installed in 1909 to substantially reduce the flow of the Herring River. In the 1920’s, to further hasten the drainage of the wetlands, the main stem of the river was deepened, straightened and channelized in several areas north of High Toss Road.
![Historic marsh vs today map map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Historic-marsh-vs-today-map.jpg)
The effects of diking included a dramatic decrease in the amount of salt marsh in the estuary. Once covering approximately 1,100 acres, today’s viable salt marsh covers a mere 10 acres, less than 10% of its original size.
![John HR Now map RESTORATION AREA PHASE I, POSSIBLE PHASE 2](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/John-HR-Now-map.jpg)
The Herring River Restoration Project will replace the deteriorated Chequessett Neck dike with a tidal control bridge and will remove High Toss causeway altogether. A water control structure will be built at Mill Creek and a larger culvert with tide gate installed at Pole Dike Creek. In addition, undersized upstream culverts will be replaced.
![RESTORATION AREA PHASE I, POSSIBLE PHASE 2](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/RESTORATION-AREA-PHASE-I-POSSIBLE-PHASE-2.jpg)
A view of the extent of Phase 1 of the Project, as currently planned.
![map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/map-key.jpg)
![Project map map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Project-map.jpg)
An overview of the entire Project, as currently planned. The various sub-areas are listed, as well as their approximate acreage.
![Wellfleet Harbor Bathymetric Map 1860 copy 1 map-key](https://herringriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wellfleet-Harbor-Bathymetric-Map-1860-copy-1.jpg)
An 1860 bathymetric map of Wellfleet Harbor, Jeremy’s Point, and Cape Cod Bay, showing Billingsgate Island (now submerged at high tide) and Billingsgate Shoal.