POCASSET – The Conservation Commission has approved a Bourne plan to upgrade water quality at Monks Park off Shore Road, restore a degraded adjacent saltmarsh, control roadway runoff, improve parking lot drainage and bring a sense of order to the increasingly popular but no longer distinctly natural Mud Cove area.

The $200,000 project is financed in part by federal money through the Cape Cod Conservation District and $65,000 in funds allocated by Town Meeting. Area reclamation is coordinated by the town Engineering and Natural Resources Departments with the Conservation Department and Bracken Engineering Inc. of Bournedale.

Monks Park is off the beaten path, but easily and quickly accessible. Mud Cove is a natural kayaking attraction between Little Bay to the north and the Pocasset River to the south. Restoring the area has become a signature municipal effort.

“Monks Park has been everybody’s secret place in Bourne,” Engineering Technician Tim Lydon told the wetlands protection panel on June 16. “This is Phase 1 of a multi-phase project. We really want to enhance places like Monks Park. We plan storm water improvements first, then saltmarsh restoration. We think the town can rectify pollutants on town property.”

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Shoreline enthusiasts of all stripes use the area. But they come with cross purposes, according to village residents. The result is conflict at some points. Some dog walkers all too often care little about droppings. There are haphazard kayak launchings. Trail enthusiasts battle duck hunters. Parking is disordered. There is no law enforcement patrol after dark. And there are litterers.

Lydon acknowledged concerns about the upcoming change that results will not necessarily be achieved overnight. He says the plan will pivot on future contracted maintenance even though Monks Park is not a geographic frailty.

“We can’t legislate free will,” he said. “But we can mitigate impacts.”

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Commission members agree the scenic and somewhat secluded Mud Cove is popular and that it is the only public shoreline area in Bourne that does not require a beach sticker for access. Similarly, there are few remaining nooks where the shoreline can be walked unimpeded for a reasonable stretch.

The entrance is via a section of Valley Bars Road off Shore Road north of the Pocasset River and under a train trestle. Monks Park is also part of a scheduled third phase of Bourne Rail Trail planning, which involves bike path construction from the North Falmouth line to the Tidal Flats overlook at the canal railroad bridge.

There is no construction estimate for Phase 3; it has not yet been submitted to the state Department of Transportation.