NEWS RELEASE: Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project is Awarded Excellence in Conservation Award
On April 7, the Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project was honored with the prestigious 2025 Grand Conceptor Award, presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts. From left to right, Manny da Costa (Watershed Scientist, Inter-Fluve) , Sondra Shah (Staff Engineer, Inter-Fluve), Michael Lach (Executive Director, HCT) Colin Leonard (Board of Trustees, HCT), Travis Sumner (Co-Founder & Principal, SumCo Eco-Contracting), Nick Nelson (Senior Geomorphologist and Regional Director, Inter-Fluve) and Michael Lundsted (Project Manager, SumCo Eco-Contracting). Harwich Conservation Trust photo.
AMHERST, Massachusetts – The Harwich Conservation Trust was honored with the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s inaugural Excellence in Conservation Award at the 2025 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, held on March 21st at UMass Amherst. An audience of 600 was on hand for the presentation, which was followed by a keynote address by Congressman Jim McGovern.
This award is in recognition of the Harwich Conservation Trust’s Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve in Harwich Port. This multiyear restoration project was undertaken in partnership with the Town of Harwich, the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Inter Fluve was the eco-restoration design engineering firm and SumCo Eco-Contracting was the eco-restoration construction firm. A wide range of consultants and scientists contributed expertise to make this innovative project possible.
The project successfully restored retired cranberry bogs to improve public access to the land and enhance nearly a mile of stream and over 44 acres of adjacent wetland habitat. The restoration included the addition of ponds, a salt marsh, and native plant species. For the first time in over a century, Cold Brook now runs free on its way to Saquatucket Harbor on Nantucket Sound.
A Town of Harwich feasibility study commissioned during the design process concluded that the restored wetlands’ ability to reduce nitrogen releases to the Harbor will help the Town avoid $6 million in sewer installation costs. More information on the Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project is available on the Harwich Conservation Trust’s website.
Founded in 1988, Harwich Conservation Trust is a non-profit land trust organization working to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and quality of life in Harwich, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition advances land conservation across the Commonwealth by providing education, tools, networking and advocacy to 140 land trusts and their partners.
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NEWS RELEASE: Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project is Awarded Excellence in Conservation Award On April 7, the Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project was
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