This article was updated on July 17, 2025. WELLFLEET — The select board asked the board of health on July 8 to “temporarily suspend its current septic regulations,” reverting to […]
Environment
THIS WILD CAPE
Here to Be Admired
Dragonflies and damselflies emerge like winged jewels from their aquatic lives
Dragonflies and damselflies have been flying over wetlands, meadows, and woodlands for over 300 million years, making them one of the most ancient orders of insects found on Earth today. […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Roll of the Dye
Baptisia tinctoria is a plant so nice they named it twice. Both the genus name and specific epithet refer to the native perennial’s use as an agent in dyes — […]
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 15 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
BLUE ECONOMY
Scallop Landings at Outer Cape Ports Are in Steep Decline
Last year’s catch was only one-third of the 2021 haul
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 […]
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 […]
