08/18/2026
In 2001, a severe algae bloom took place in East Harbor lagoon, the result of a decision made in the 1860s when an inlet was diked and later fitted with a culvert. Freshwater could escape the lagoon, but saltwater (vital to the biome) could not come in. Without regular saltwater flushing, the ecosystem slowly began to break down, becoming a breeding ground for invasive plants and desecrating salt-loving species native to the lagoon.
After much deliberation, the residents of Truro and Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) made the decision to prop open valves that kept saltwater from the lagoon. The first tidal flush began in 2002, leaving researchers and residents eager to monitor the outcomes.
Enter Dr. Rachel “Rae” Thiet, a soil ecologist and Director of the Conservation Biology concentration in the Environmental Studies master’s program. At the beginning of her career at Antioch, she became involved with East Harbor after a student expressed interest in centering her thesis around the restoration project.
Rae has spent the last 16+ years chest-deep in mud, sifting through soil, and teaching students about how a healthy estuary operates. Thanks to the data and research generated over that span of time, with the work of Rae, the AUNE team, CCNS, and other collaborators, these restoration efforts have brought the lagoon back to life.
“What I love about it the most is just being out in such a beautiful setting. It’s gorgeous. I love walking through the system and just seeing what’s swimming and crawling around, what’s nesting.” Rae smiles at her memories of walking the shore. “It feels like every single year I’m there, there’s a new group of organisms.”
Read more about Rae and the East Harbor restoration here:
A Systems Ecologist about the Ground There is a whole world invisible to the eye. Day after day, this complex system operates without supervision, breathing and cycling and nurturing everything, from the smallest blade of grass to the largest terrestria...
