Massachusetts group restores 44 acres, mile of stream; butterflies follow

Image(s): Harwich Conservation Trust A former cranberry-growing landscape in Harwich, Massachusetts, is showing what can happen when a damaged wetland is given the chance to function naturally again. The Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) spent years working with public agencies and other partners to restore the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, a 66-acre property in the heart of Harwich Port. Completed in 2025, the project rewilded more than 44 acres of wetland and nearly a mile of stream, while creating ponds, restoring native vegetation and improving water flow. Then came an unexpected sign that the landscape was changing. As the restoration work neared completion, longtime HCT volunteer Gerry Beetham began noticing butterflies he had not seen there before, including common buckeyes and clouded sulphurs. The return of these insects offered a small but vivid glimpse of a much larger ecological recovery.A former cranberry bog was transformed into a wildlife oasisFor more than a century, Cold Brook had been shaped around cranberry farming, leaving the stream and surrounding wetlands significantly altered from their natural condition. The land eventually became a retired cranberry ...