Glowing in the afternoon sun at Nauset Marsh like Chihuly art, Salicornia ambigua, the perennial glasswort, unambiguously lives up to its name. Evolved to survive the salt water as a […]
Environment
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 1 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
GULLY-WASHER
Downpours Cause Flooding, Beach Stair Collapse, and Shellfishing Closures
Eastham got 6.6 inches over the weekend; Provincetown got 3.2
After three sunny, dry weeks, parts of the Outer Cape got over half a foot of rain between Sept. 19 and 22. The National Weather Service reported that Eastham recorded […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Turn Your Ear Skyward for Bobolinks
The birds that helped reveal migration’s secrets are overhead now
Bink! The sound pinged overhead as I walked along High Toss Road in Wellfleet. It was a crisp early autumn morning, and the north winds overnight had dropped a smattering […]
OFF THE SHELF
Fungi Are Our Friends
The spooky season has a way of arriving overnight: one day candy corn suddenly appears on the grocery shelf, the next day shelves of candy corn pop up along 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, Sept. 24 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
Against the Wind: Questions About BOEM’s Fisheries Analysis
Maine-based anti-wind advocate Jerry Leeman leads a forum at the Truro library
TRURO — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the final sale notice for the Gulf of Maine offshore wind project lease areas on Sept. 16. The agency shrunk […]
WOOD ASTER
Starry, Starry Days
Along the quiet back stretch of the Beech Forest trail, a sea of serrated hearts has been patiently photosynthesizing since the spring, steadfastly preparing for its late summer show. 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, Sept. 17 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
THE WATERSHED
Wellfleet Moves to Replace Cesspools and Old Septic Systems
The plan responds to state requirement to bring harbor nitrogen levels down
WELLFLEET — The board of health unveiled new regulations on Aug. 27 aimed at reducing nitrogen levels in Wellfleet Harbor and its estuaries. These regulations mandate cesspool removal and will […]
STRICT SCRUTINY
Proposed Beach Stairs Get OK From Cape Cod Commission
Homeowners’ proposal went through unusual state review after a local denial
TRURO — The Cape Cod Commission voted 11-1 on Sept. 5 to grant a Development of Regional Impact exemption for a proposed 200-foot stairway from a house at 3 Corn […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Birding on the Underwater Edge of the Continent
An overnight trip to witness sea life that thrives way, way offshore
HYANNIS PORT — We boarded the ship in the dark, 50 of us, schlepping backpacks and duffle bags and coolers of food. It was 5:30 in the morning, but most […]
TOO RELIABLE
Not Very Mindful, Not Very Demure
Clematis terniflora’s common name, sweet autumn clematis, does a lot of PR work for this badly behaved garden vine, which is repeatedly guilty of reseeding itself into neglected spaces and […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Sept. 10 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ELECTROMAGNETIC
Studies Look at Turbine Cables and Lobsters
Experiments in Long Island Sound found few effects
WELLFLEET — Two years after its first public announcement in August 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) plans to hold public auctions for eight offshore wind energy leasing […]
