PROVINCETOWN — Like all coastal areas, the Outer Cape may look unrecognizable in 2100 if worst-case sea-level rise projections — six to eight feet here — come to pass. But […]
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, Aug. 1 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
OCEAN SANCTUARY
State Agency Denies Holtec’s Permit Change
DEP’s draft decision blocks path to nuclear wastewater release for now
PLYMOUTH — The state Dept. of Environmental Protection issued a draft determination on July 24 denying a permit modification that would have allowed Holtec, the company decommissioning the shuttered Pilgrim […]
BEACH MONITORING
Cooks Brook Beach Reopens After a Two-Week Closure
Bacterial growth could have been encouraged by beach erosion
EASTHAM — The closure of Cooks Brook Beach on the Cape Cod Bay side of Eastham from July 8 to 21 seems to have been caused by natural bacterial flourishing […]
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 25 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT EXCHANGE
Visitors From Mexico Take Lessons From the Herring River
Four university students from Michoacán learn about rallying a village
WELLFLEET — The decades-long fight to unite local stakeholders behind the restoration of the Herring River — the largest salt marsh restoration project in Massachusetts history — has created ripples […]
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 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
CONGESTED WATERS
Reckless Boaters Increasingly Pose Risk for Whales
Ignoring whale watch rules could deter animals from feeding
PROVINCETOWN — Every summer for decades, the Dolphin Fleet has taken tourists out to Stellwagen Bank, just north of Race Point, where humpback whales, minke whales, fin whales, and endangered […]
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 11 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
HORSESHOE CRABS
A Fishery With Global Stakes Faces New Scrutiny
Proposed regulations fail, dead crabs wash ashore, and ‘people are asking a lot of questions’
The Atlantic horseshoe crab’s evolutionary lineage has barely changed in the last 450 million years. But it’s now under unprecedented pressure in Massachusetts from human activity. For years, the bifurcated […]
NITROGEN REMOVAL
State Finalizes New Watershed and Septic Tank Regulations
A tax credit for septic system overhauls could be expanded
The Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection released final regulations last week that give Cape Cod communities two years to opt in to a “watershed permit” to combat nitrogen pollution from […]
ENVIRONMENT
High Bacteria Levels Lead to Short-Lived Beach Closures
Seashore closes Race Point and Head of the Meadow beaches for a day
TRURO — As the weather warms up and summer crowds flock to the beaches to cool off, something unwelcome has been detected in the water — and it’s not sharks. […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 27 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 20 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 13 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
