Mashpee River Reservation is a park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

 in Mashpee, Massachusetts

Mashpee, Massachusetts

Mashpee is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,006 as of 2010.For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Mashpee, please see the articles on Mashpee Neck, Monomoscoy Island, New Seabury, Popponesset, Popponesset Island,...

 on the Mashpee River

Mashpee River

The Mashpee River is a tidal river on Cape Cod in Mashpee, Massachusetts.The river arises in Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds, flows south a short distance, and drains into Pirate's Cove on Popponesset Bay on the Nantucket Sound...

. The Trustees of Reservations

The Trustees of Reservations

The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...

 owns and maintains the park.

Pristine shoreline, natural spawning

Spawn (biology)

Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

 areas, and excellent water quality

Water quality

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...

 make the Mashpee River one of Massachusetts' finest sources of sea-run brook trout

Brook trout

The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...

. Since at least 1915, spirited conservation

Conservation ethic

Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...

 efforts have led to the protection of this five-mile tidal river

Tidal river

A tidal river is a river, or more typically a stretch of a river, whose flow and level is influenced by tides. An example of a tidal river is the portion of the Connecticut River flowing from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, to the Atlantic Ocean. The Brisbane River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean...

 which begins at Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds

Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds

Mashpee Pond and Wakeby Pond are adjoining ponds in Mashpee and Sandwich, Massachusetts. When considered together, these two ponds cover and constitute the largest freshwater pond on Cape Cod. This pair is deep at its deepest point....

 and empties into Pirate's Cove on Popponesset Bay

Popponesset Bay

Popponesset Bay System is a group of bays located at the towns of Mashpee and Barnstable , on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with a southern shore bounded by water fromNantucket Sound....

.

This area has two miles of trails through the Mashpee River Reservation plus additional connecting trails on property of other conservation organizations and town and state government

State government

A state government is the government of a subnational entity in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government...

 properties. The Reservation's woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 and shoreline trails form a link in the Cape Cod Pathways.

History

In the early decades of the 20th century, John W. Farley, an avid fisherman

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

 and naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

, acquired contiguous parcels of land along the Mashpee River and established a small campground and canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

launch. He donated this land to the public in 1959 and an additional grant by Pemberton Whitcomb in 1979 increased the park's size. The Trustees of Reservations purchased more land in 1998.

External links

• The Trustees of Reservations: Mashpee River Reservation