In 2016, Town Meeting voted to acquire with $400,000 in CPA funds 43.6 acres in the Herring Pond, Carter Bridge area. The land is preserved for:

• passive recreation
• the protection of priority habitats of rare species
• the protection of the water quality of Little Herring Pond, Carter’s Brook, Great Herring Pond and Pickerel Pond
• the herring run accessing the Cape Cod Canal.

The town partnered with private donors and The Herring Ponds Watershed Association to make this happen. The land and adjacent preservation efforts will be named the David E. Alper Nature Preserve.