PROVINCETOWN — State data finalized in April show that 2024 saw the smallest sea scallop haul from the Outer and Lower Cape’s ports since at least 2019. The in-shell weight […]
Environment
BIRDWATCHING
A Secret Planter of Oaks
Giving blue jays the credit they deserve for reforesting the Outer Cape’s woodlands
It doesn’t seem possible that these hills around us were planted. We know they were clear cut; Europeans and their ships had not seen trees this size in centuries. It […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Love Is Like a Butterfly Weed
If Dolly Parton were a flower, she might just be a butterfly weed. Just like Dolly, Asclepias tuberosa is small in stature but bursting with life (native bees and bugs […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, July 8 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PUBLIC HEALTH
The Lone Star Tick Settles In, Bringing New Risks
As the species becomes widespread on the Cape, prevention is key
PROVINCETOWN — There’s a newcomer on the Cape’s tick scene. It bites hard, reproduces fast, and, in some cases, leaves victims allergic to red meat. It’s the lone star tick. […]
ON THE BEACH
The Language of Fishing
Why fishermen’s back and forth is jovial even when they’re getting skunked
I wait all winter for the precious June afternoons when the wind and sun are at my back, and the tide is low and incoming. These are perfect conditions for […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, July 1 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Ovals of Opuntia
There’s something kind of human about a mature patch of Opuntia humifusa, the Eastern prickly pear cactus. Maybe it’s the plant’s new growth and round fruits that attach along the […]
WEATHER
The Humidity Will Take the Holiday Off
One of the busiest times of the year on Cape Cod — the Fourth of July — is upon us, and the weather looks to cooperate quite nicely through the […]
HERRING RIVER RESTORATION
Park Service Nears Completion of Dike at Mill Creek
Chequessett Neck bridge and gates are on track to be done by mid-2026
WELLFLEET — Five hundred yards upstream of the Chequessett Neck bridge, sequestered on a maintenance access road, a $7-million dike designed to prevent flooding in the Mill Creek sub-basin is nearing […]
HOUSING
Wastewater Could Delay Move-In at Lawrence Hill
Holding tanks might be installed if the town’s cluster system isn’t ready
WELLFLEET — When tenants get the keys to their new apartments at Wellfleet’s Lawrence Hill affordable housing complex next year, their drains may lead to holding tanks rather than the […]
PREDICTIONS
One Weather Station, Bad Backyard Data, and Hurricane Season Ahead
With Outer Cape forecasts already shaky, 600 jobs lost at National Weather Service could make them worse
PROVINCETOWN — As the sun crept over Provincetown Harbor, Capt. Mike Rathgeber was at the dock, getting ready for another day on the water. He packed the boat, checked his […]
WASTEWATER
Wellfleet Plans to Amend Its Septic Upgrade Rules
A July 30 health board hearing will consider ‘strategic siting’ and changing upgrade triggers
This article was updated on June 27, 2025. WELLFLEET — Just over six months after the town adopted new septic system regulations in January — passed in part to help […]
NATURE
One Naturalist’s Vigil for an Ailing Forest
'Solstice Tree' preserves an artist’s observations of Provincetown’s Beech Forest
For six months, from the summer solstice last June to the winter solstice in December, Grace Emmet walked through Beech Forest in Provincetown every week — 27 times in all. […]
BIRDWATCHING
Following the Whisper of the Waxwing
Fruit trees are favorite perches for flocks of silky nomads
It was such a soft note, a faint lisping sound from nearby, I wasn’t sure I’d heard it at first. It called again. I scanned the wet leaves of the […]
