Popponesset Spit

{{short description|Beach in the U.S. state of Massachusetts}}

Popponesset Spit is a spit between Popponesset Bay and Nantucket Sound. The barrier peninsula extends for about {{convert|1.0|mi}} from the community of Popponesset in Mashpee on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and is part of the coastline known as Popponesset Beach.{{Citation|last = Mary A. Cialone |first = Mary A. Cialone |title = Evolution of Popponesset Beach and Its Effect on Popponesset Bay (CERC-93-9) |publisher = U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |date = September 1993 |url = https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/jspui/bitstream/11681/12992/1/MP-CERC-93-9.pdf}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/popponesset-spit-no-alcohol-rule-to-be-enforced-this-summer/article_1e3963ad-6025-547e-8e49-2015d3827ce4.html|title=Popponesset Spit: No-Alcohol Rule To Be Enforced This Summer|website=CapeNews.net|date=23 April 2021 }}

{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2S_6CAAAQBAJ&q=%22Popponessett+Spit%22&pg=PA306|title=Geology of Holocene Barrier Island Systems|first=Richard A. Jr|last=Davis|date=December 6, 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9783642783609|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7kJii_IsZAC&q=%22Popponessett+Spit%22&pg=PA23|title=Community and State Officials' Guide to Coastal Zone Laws Relating to CDBG and UDAG Programs|date=May 14, 1985|publisher=U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development|via=Google Books}}

The tip of the peninsula is owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society while the landward end is owned by Save Popponesset Bay.{{Cite web|url=https://savepopponessetbay.org/about/history/|title=History | Save Poppenesset Bay|website=savepopponessetbay.org}}{{Cite web|url=https://csengineermag.com/popponesset-spit-named-one-americas-best-restored-beaches-2017/|title=Popponesset Spit named one of America's Best Restored Beaches for 2017|first=Bob|last=Drake|date=May 23, 2017}}

The peninsula is now significantly shorter than seen in the Barnstable County survey of 1880. Portions of the shore have been stabilized with riprap to deter further erosion. Most of this work was done immediately after Hurricane Bob which in 1992 had opened an inlet through the beach. The peninsula is home to bird sanctuary and other conservation projects{{Cite web | title=Newsroom - Woods Hole Group | url=http://www.whgrp.com/articles/ASBPA_SPB_BeachAward_PressRelease_May2017_FINAL.pdf | access-date=2025-04-03 | website=www.whgrp.com}} that prevent disturbance of the piping plover, an endangered species, and terns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/dogs-banned-from-popular-mashpee-beach/article_d98b8752-125a-5752-8527-e6709157f417.html|title=Dogs Banned From Popular Mashpee Beach|website=CapeNews.net|date=4 May 2017 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.coastalneighborhoods.com/blog/nourishing-the-poppy-spit.html|title=Nourishing the Poppy Spit|website=www.coastalneighborhoods.com|date=April 2020 }}