The ‘Right Call’ on Visitor Center
To the editor:
Re “$15M U.S. Grant for Stellwagen Center Is Gone” (Dec. 12, front page):
Concerns over the cost, size, and location of the latest proposal for a Stellwagen Bank Visitor Center should be followed by continued efforts by town staff to move forward with the center to showcase nature’s gift to fishermen and marine life. The Stellwagen Bank sanctuary is one of 17 national marine sanctuaries, and the visitor center has been under consideration since 2016, with NOAA and the Center for Coastal Studies leading an effort to protect, preserve, and educate the public about this rich ecosystem.
Town meeting authorized $42,000 in 2016 and 2017 for feasibility and design work. NOAA organized a citizens’ steering committee to ensure town leaders and staff were involved. I served on the 2019 steering committee with Tom Donegan and as a select board appointee in 2020-22.
NOAA proposed a 9,500-square-foot center, which was discussed at a March 2021 meeting. Comments about site selection, size, and impacts on parking were followed by select board chair Dave Abramson urging NOAA to increase public outreach to gain support.
NOAA staff and CCS leadership changes in 2022 postponed further refinement of the plan. A revised plan was presented in August 2024, and it was rejected despite the known loss of $15 million in NOAA funding. This was the right call. Uncertainty over final costs for the project and impacts on adjacent uses made this version of the visitor center too risky.
Public engagement fell short in responding to longstanding concerns. NOAA’s Anne-Marie Runfola is returning to Provincetown as the new executive director of the Center for Coastal Studies, and I hope she will work with the town to plan a visitor center that showcases Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary in scope and size more suited to the fragile harbor.
Louise Venden
Cambridge
The writer served on the Provincetown Select Board from 2017 to 2023.
Splitting Hares
To the editor:
Thanks to William von Herff for his insightful article “A Rabbit Species That Once Was Lost Is Now Found” [Dec. 12, page A6]. Who ever thought there was more than one rabbit species here on Cape Cod?
The fact that the eastern cottontail and the New England cottontail are visually identical but genetically different is fascinating. It raises the question of whether these two species have ever hybridized.
The American Ornithological Society recently split a shearwater species familiar to most Outer Cape birdwatchers and known previously as Cory’s shearwater. It was discovered that a nearly identical variety frequenting the Mediterranean was genetically different. Some minuscule I.D. differences are also apparent between the newly split shearwater species.
Now we have a Scopoli’s shearwater to challenge our bird identification abilities.
Ross Sormani
Provincetown
On Chemicals and Cancer
To the editor:
A cold wind was blowing on Willow Street when two dozen Cape Codders protested NStar’s plan to spray herbicides under the power lines to control vegetation. With banners and boundless enthusiasm, we waved at the cars in 2014, and drivers honked horns to show support. We citizens did our best to stop the pollution of our sole source aquifer, but we failed. NStar, now calling itself Eversource, won the battle and continues spraying.
My worry was the relationship between pesticide use and human health. I started filtering drinking water. I moved to the city in 2021 and thought I was home free, but I wasn’t. This month, mammography revealed that I need a lumpectomy and radiation. Although I have no proof, I continue to think toxic chemicals in the aquifer play a role. Every year, I contribute to Silent Spring Institute, which attempts to uncover the links between the chemicals in our everyday environment and women’s health, with a focus on breast cancer prevention.
Meanwhile, the statistic is one in eight women. Ladies, mammography may not be pleasant, but it does work. Don’t neglect your annual screening!
Alexandra Grabbe
Arlington
Life Jackets Aren’t Optional
To the editor:
An October incident in the ocean off Chatham highlighted the importance of wearing a life jacket. A man was stranded in the water after his boat capsized near Monomoy Island. Luckily, two nearby fishermen spotted him and tossed him a life jacket, ultimately rescuing him from the cold water and bringing him safely to shore. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
In the most recent U.S. Coast Guard boating statistics, three of every four people who died in boating accidents drowned; among those who drowned, 87 percent were not wearing a life jacket.
Many of these people considered themselves longtime boaters who knew how to swim. But if you are knocked unconscious, you can’t swim. You wouldn’t try to put a seat belt on in the middle of a car crash. Don’t imagine putting on a life jacket in the middle of a boating emergency.
Everyone going out on the water should wear a life jacket that fits properly. If you need to borrow one, check out the Sea Tow Foundation’s life jacket loaner stations.
Gail R. Kulp
Southold, N.Y.
The writer is executive director of the Sea Tow Foundation.
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
