Last month, the Buzzards Bay Coalition purchased a 650+-acre corridor of land surrounding the Agawam River, adjacent to AD Makepeace’s Redbrook community in Plymouth. The Agawam River is an 11-mile waterway that flows from Plymouth’s Halfway Pond through cranberry bogs and forests, joining the Wankinco River to form the Wareham River and empty into Buzzards Bay.

A view of the Agawam River in the purchased land.

The Coalition plans to restore retired cranberry bogs to native, riverfront wetlands to provide wildlife habitat, remove the dams that have blocked fish passage, and offer recreational access for the community. Restoration will also improve water quality in the Agawam and Wareham Rivers.

Vice President of Watershed Protection Brendan Annett says, “We’re excited to see the effect on the river herring with this project.” He points to the similar restoration of the Weweantic River in Wareham, which resulted in a significant increase in fish—both in quantity and variety—as one of the most satisfying projects of his time at the Coalition. He’s eager to see a similarly positive impact on the Agawam River.

This purchase was made possible by a grant from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and private donors to the Coalition. The transaction includes the Kennard Barn, which has beautiful views of the undeveloped lands to the west along the river and will continue to be available for programs

Working in partnership with the Town of Plymouth Department of Natural Resources, the Coalition is planning to remove the dams in the waterway to make the waterway accessible to fish that use the headwaters to spawn over the next two years. In the interim, cranberries will continue to be harvested. The Town of Plymouth has earned national recognition for its ecological restoration work locally with Eel River, Tidmarsh, and Town Brook.

“We’re looking forward to seeing this land thoughtfully returned to a natural state that benefits both the ecosystem and the greater community, and we see the project as a natural asset for Redbrook,” says James F. Kane, President and CEO of the A.D. Makepeace Company.