Demolition begins in 'rewilding' of Sipson Island in Orleans

ORLEANS—All year long, the nonprofit Sipson Island Trust (SIP) has worked to deconstruct its 22 acres ahead of an unprecedented facelift.

On Friday the Trust, which bought the land in 2020, began demolishing abandoned buildings as part of a restoration to reflect how the marine habitat existed 300 years ago, SIP president Mon Cochran told Morning Edition host Patrick Flanary.

The work is being handled from a barge and is expected to last through December. Pomroy Associates LLC is managing the project.

"We're particularly interested in the Indigenous history of the island and the surrounding area and want to return things to something beginning to approximate what the island looked like in 1711, when colonists first privatized it," Cochran said. "What we really want to do is to set an example that can be replicated elsewhere."

Patrick Flanary I wonder if we could start by you defining "rewilding" for me. What does that mean?

Mon Cochran, president, Sipson Island Trust Rewilding in our case means removing three residences and returning that disturbed land to the natural environment.

PF I understand that the work is happening from a barge in protected waters. How many people are involved, and how has the town of Orleans been working with the Trust?

MC The Sipson Island Trust board is 12 or 13 of us, plus a number of volunteers. They have all been involved in the project, which is really two years in the making, when we were able to purchase the island. The idea of removing these dwellings and returning the island to natural vegetation was at the top of our list. And so we've since set out to do exactly that.

PF How do you know it will work?

MC Well, in a purely mechanical sense, removal of the buildings is underway. And we have access to lots of native vegetation, so land management should be pretty straightforward.

PF How will all this look when it's complete? What can people expect when they return to the island early next year?

MC Early next year they'll begin to see grasslands emerging from these house sites. And then other indigenous plants will be added along the way. Next summer you should be looking at more open fields.

PF You co-founded the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative. What's on your mind as the biggest threat to the Cape right now?

MC It's difficult to predict. Things are happening very quickly with the climate. I would say sea-level rise and its impacts on the various landforms would be the biggest challenge. And I think from a policy standpoint the ongoing challenge is to capitalize on the potential of these wind farms that are coming online south of Martha's Vineyard.

PF Veterans Day is coming. I'm wondering how you reflect on your service with the Marine Corps in Vietnam, and how does that discipline translate to the environmental work you're doing today?

MC The process of organizing a project of this scale has reminded me a little bit of my service as an officer in Vietnam organizing troops and and keeping everyone safe. So in that sense, I see a real parallel.

I think what's particularly exciting about this project is that it's a positive view into the future. So we feel very good about that. We're particularly interested in the Indigenous history of the island and the surrounding area and want to return things to something beginning to approximate what the island looked like in 1711, when colonists first privatized it.

In my own case, I've lived opposite Simpson Island for 75 years and never really set foot on the island because it was privately owned and visitors were discouraged. And so, for me personally, it's an extraordinary experience to bring a space like that which had been in private hands for over 300 years back into the public domain. And what we really want to do is to set an example that can be replicated elsewhere.

Sipson Island is closed to visitors until further notice.