The sound echoes from the marshes behind my house every morning, starting in late February: konk-a-REEE. It’s an alarm clock of sorts — it signals the start of a new […]
Environment
NATURAL SELECTION
A Huckleberry’s Close (But Not Kissing) Cousin
The native shrub Lyonia ligustrina is a close relative of blueberries and huckleberries in the Ericaceae family that makes a name for itself by producing hard capsules around its seeds […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 11 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
TERMINATION
Outer Cape Protests Firing of Park Service Staff
More than 100 people gather near Salt Pond Visitor Center on March 1
EASTHAM — A yellow patch of grass opposite the Lobster Shanty on Route 6 became the site of a 100-person protest on Saturday, March 1, as it was the nearest […]
WILD THINGS
Fully Vaccinium-ated
Wampanoag people across southeastern Massachusetts have appreciated the astringent qualities of the native Vaccinium macrocarpon for thousands of years. Europeans were not entirely unfamiliar with this plant either when they […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 4 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WASTEWATER
Select Board Delays Vote on Watershed Management Plan
Another public hearing will be scheduled for March
WELLFLEET — The town’s long-awaited targeted watershed management plan, which involves building a sewer system for the central district and applying new septic system rules to most other properties, was […]
MORNING FLIGHT
The Ravens Say It’s Spring
These intelligent birds start laying their eggs in late February
I was driving past Old North Cemetery in Truro a couple of weeks ago when I saw a bird flying upside down. It soon flipped back over, completing an awkward […]
WILD THINGS
Feeling Fine on Blueberry Wine
The chance to look closely at the zig-zag branching habit of several old wild highbush blueberries is one good reason to walk around Great Pond in Wellfleet on a cold […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 25 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WASTEWATER
Workshop Makes Wellfleet’s Sewer Plans Seem Less Murky
Select board hears how other towns have ‘planned to adapt’
WELLFLEET — At a workshop organized by the select board on Feb. 11, the way toward finalizing Wellfleet’s targeted watershed management plan became less murky. The board invited representatives from Mashpee […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Invasion of the Pretzel Sticks
The brown pretzel sticks seen trailside at the Twine Field in Truro are the thick twigs of Ailanthus altissima, the so-called tree-of-heaven, an infamous invasive that has established a grove […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
GUT PUNCH
Wellfleet Considers Legal Action Against Owner of House on Bluff
Key is showing imminent harm to harbor and economy should Bonomi let the house fall
WELLFLEET — The massive house on the edge of the eroding bluff at 1440 Chequessett Neck Road is a cliff-hanger in more than one way. In January, the town’s conservation […]
CLIMATE SCIENCE
WHOI Resets Ocean De-Acidification Test for This Summer
Comments on EPA permit to conduct experiment in Wilkinson Basin are positive so far
WOODS HOLE — With the federal government following a blueprint to deter climate research at agencies like the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic […]
