Waquoit Bay is integral to the cultural history of the upper Cape Cod region. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe have inhabited the area for over 12,000 years - the name ‘Waquoit’ derived from the Wampanoag word ‘Weeqayut’ meaning ‘Place of Light’. Over time the bay has supported cranberry and tourism industries as well as multiple commercial and subsistence fisheries including herring, quahog, and oyster.

The Waquoit Bay watershed is home to the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge – a 6,000 acre conservation area spread across the towns of Falmouth and Mashpee. The refuge contains a diversity of aquatic ecosystems including coastal estuarine, freshwater rivers, wetlands, ponds, and rare cedar swamps. Terrestrial ecosystems of the refuge include upland meadows, forests, and pine barrens.

There are three major river systems flowing into Waquoit Bay – the Quashnet, Childs, and Red Brook rivers – all of which once supported cranberry bogs. Today the Quashnet River is fully restored, supporting a river herring run and a healthy population of sea-run brook trout. The major restoration work on the Childs River was completed in Fall 2021 with the hopes that the restored river habitat will support native species like sea-run brook trout, American eel, and brown bullhead. The Red Brook cranberry bogs were abandoned decades ago and the river channel remains impaired.

While many regional rivers are seeing a rebirth, Waquoit Bay itself is threatened by increasing nutrient loads introduced by residential septic systems and fertilizer run-off. The water quality issues have led to shellfish and fish die-offs, as well as the loss of sea grass beds, which are nursery habitat for many fish species. The water quality issues plaguing Waquoit Bay are not unique – without addressing the need for a comprehensive wastewater plan, many of Cape Cod’s estuaries will continue to degrade.