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 […]
Environment
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 […]
MARSHES
Scientists Measure an Ecological Transition at Duck Harbor
How the ‘overwashes’ preview the restoration of the salt marsh at the Herring River
WELLFLEET — Duck Harbor, enjoyed by visitors as a bayside beach, is returning to its 19th-century roots as a salt marsh, according to Tim Smith, a restoration ecologist at the […]
ON THE WING
One Last Taste
As popular as the Nauset Light is as an Eastham tourist destination, it might have less buzz than the shining sumac nearby — at least while it’s in bloom. 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. 3 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
PERMISSIONS
Truro and Disabilities Group Can’t Reach Compromise on Deck
Conservation commission says temporary platform could cause damage in a storm
TRURO — An organization established to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in activities that others enjoy is locked in a dispute with the Truro Conservation Commission over […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Eye to Eye With a Catbird
Seeing the soul of the natural world on a banding day at Wing Island
BREWSTER — I pulled into the parking lot of the Cape Cod Natural History Museum at 5:30 a.m. on a mid-August morning that was hot and humid even at that […]
LAVENDER & LACE
A Salt Lover’s Life
The intertidal zone around the circular 40-foot-deep Salt Pond in Eastham is divided into strata: the inner ring is composed of the tall saltmarsh cordgrass, which prefers the inundation of […]
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. 27 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WELLFLEET HARBOR
Hydraulic Fluid Spills; Oysters Deemed Safe
Wind, tides, and the movement of boats disperse a slick over 2 acres
WELLFLEET — Local and state agencies sprang into action when a sheen — later identified as spilled hydraulic fluid — was seen coating the surface of Wellfleet Harbor on the […]
CLIMATE CHANGE
Wildfire Smoke Blankets Outer Cape for Five Days
A red Sun and hazy sky will become more common as forest fires increase
PROVINCETOWN — Residents and visitors to the Outer Cape spent nearly five days last week under a hazy, gray-brown sky that dimmed the Sun and tinted it orange and red. […]
RADIOACTIVITY
Nuclear Plant Owner Appeals Denial of Permit Change
Holtec argues that Ocean Sanctuaries Act doesn’t apply in this case
PLYMOUTH — Looking for a way to gain approval for disposing of a million gallons of contaminated wastewater into Cape Cod Bay, Holtec International, the company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear […]
SWEET SPHERES
A Walk in the Buttonbushes
The straight stems and spherical inflorescences of Cephalanthus occidentalis are reminiscent of childhood craftwork, each cluster like a model molecule or solar system made from sticks and foam. The individual […]
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. 20 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
VINEYARD WIND
One Month After Turbine Blade Breaks, Effect Is Still Being Measured
Data are scarce on the frequency of breaks and their consequences
Approximately 15 miles south of Nantucket on Saturday, July 13, one of the blades on a non-operational wind turbine that Vineyard Wind was testing broke at its base, scattering debris […]
