PROVINCETOWN — Ever since a powerful storm on Jan. 4, 2018 sent seawater coursing over Ryder Street Beach and down Gosnold Street, flooding numerous homes and businesses near town hall, […]
Environment
CONSERVATION
Coastal Studies Loses $200K for Fall Right Whale Surveys
Aerial surveys in the winter and spring will still continue
PROVINCETOWN — The Center for Coastal Studies is losing $200,000 in federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that supports aerial surveys of right whale activity in […]
BIRDWATCHING
A Companionable Warbler
Distracted in the pines, an overheated human hears hope in a bird’s song
The heat was getting unbearable. I tried to visualize the cold water that I would soon be plunging into, but all around the air was baking and even the breeze […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Call Me Tupelo
If your bunghole needs plugging, you’re going to need a bung. And a beetle to whack that bung with. And to ensure that your beetle is up to the task […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 19 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
UNDERSTORY
A Small Fire at Beech Forest Sparks Big Concerns
Wildfire preparedness in question after record-setting fall fire season
PROVINCETOWN — Nine crews of firefighters from stations as far as an hour away from Provincetown answered the call to put out what was at first considered a “major brush […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 12 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Making an Impression
There’s a mass of native plants competing for that good, southern sunlight along the muddy shore of Wellfleet’s Silver Spring — cardinal flowers, elderberry, bramble, swamp loosestrife, jewelweed — all […]
GROUNDWATER
How Truro Discovered PFAS in Five Private Wells
The town tries to ‘do the right thing’ after finding toxic chemicals
TRURO — Two rounds of testing last winter and spring resulted in the discovery of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in the well water of five private homes in […]
LEARNING
‘Lessons From Newtok’ Comes Home to Provincetown
A photojournalism project brings students from Provincetown and Alaska together on the effects of climate change
PROVINCETOWN — The sea level is rising. Sand along the coast is washing away. Surging tides flood houses. Provincetown kids know these things. Kids from Newtok, Alaska “also know about […]
ENVIRONMENT
Information and Infrastructure Are Wanted for Climate Action Plan
Eastham and Cape Cod Commission work to build a ‘roadmap’
EASTHAM — Assistant Town Administrator Rich Bienvenue threw cold water on summer small talk when he opened a gathering at the public library here on July 29. The value of […]
BIRDWATCHING
This Bird Walks on Water
On watching a storm petrel at play on the waves
I was standing forward as the fast ferry flew from Boston to Provincetown when I saw the tiny, robin-size bird — or was it a water bat? — weaving frantically […]
WEATHER
Dog Days Put on Mute
So much smoke. Some welcome rain. Tropical storms. The “dog days of summer” on the Outer Cape may be numbered, but they’re offering plenty of things to consider. As the […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 5 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Leader of the Pack
There are over two dozen species of the late-season genus Solidago in New England, many with similar golden-yellow inflorescences — you can be forgiven for not knowing which goldenrod is […]
