Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, July 30 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
Environment
WIND ENERGY
BOEM Hears Mostly Opposition at a Meeting in Eastham
Local worries focus on possible effects of offshore turbines and cables on fishing
EASTHAM — Local officials on the Outer Cape have for a month been calling for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to hold a public information session here about […]
RADIOACTIVITY
DEP Denies Permit to Discharge Wastewater Into Cape Cod Bay
Local advocates and state ask Holtec to ship the waste offsite rather than appeal
PLYMOUTH — State environmental officials won’t allow the company decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to dump one million gallons of filtered wastewater containing radionuclides and other contaminants from the […]
ENVIRONMENT
Cape Cod’s Coral Gardens (Yes, We Have Corals Here) Are in Trouble
NOAA expands its research into deeper waters from Maine to North Carolina
If you were to picture coral right now, your mind’s eye would surely see tropical reefs with crystal-clear turquoise water. But that image is incomplete: the temperate seas around the […]
PROJECT RUNWAY
The Tiger Swallowtail’s Favorite Show
The conspicuous red-orange blooms of the wood lily are runway lights to certain overhead fliers, guiding them in for landing like air traffic control. Lilium philadelphicum requires a large vehicle […]
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 23 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WIND ENERGY
Leaders Ask BOEM for Time and Information
The goal is ‘a seat at the table’ as offshore wind plans advance
WELLFLEET — Plans for permitting the construction of wind farms in the Gulf of Maine have been in the works at the U.S. Dept. of the Interior since at least […]
HEAVY METAL
Old Leaking Oil Tanks Unearthed at Truro DPW
Vehicle parts and old snowplow blades also among debris found on Town Hall Hill
TRURO — Twelve test pits dug at Truro’s current DPW site last week unearthed piles of metallic debris that had spent at least two decades underground, Director Jarrod Cabral said. […]
MORNING FLIGHT
The Rare Work of Seeing Birds as Individuals
Two scientists study Wellfleet’s pine warblers, bird by bird
When you walk into the campground area north of the parking lot at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary, you’ll likely hear the twittery trill of birdsong emanating from the pines. […]
AMBER WAVES
A Grass Presages Autumn
The tan flower stalks of Deschampsia flexuosa seem out of place this early in the season, presaging the end of summer just when we were getting warmed up. A cool-season […]
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 16 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WILDLIFE
Dolphins’ ‘Signature Calls’ Could Predict Strandings
A 2021 study done in Wellfleet Harbor suggests a possible early warning system
WELLFLEET — The unique sounds known as “signature whistles” that all the dolphin species found in Cape Cod waters use to identify themselves may be the key to finding out […]
THREATENED
Beach Access Limited When Plovers Nest Near Trails
The trail from Snail Road leads to a barrier that protects vulnerable nests
PROVINCETOWN — Mildred Champlin remembers a time when piping plover chicks were in constant danger of being run over by cars on Race Point Beach. She has spent every summer […]
TAG TEAM
Inside Sharktivity
Crowdsourcing makes the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s app tick
PROVINCETOWN — As the waters off Outer Cape Cod warm and beaches fill, John Chisholm, the man working the virtual tip line at Sharktivity, knows his workload is about to […]
RISING WATERS
Townspeople and Consultants Head Deeper Into Coastal Resilience Plan
Provincetown’s future floodplains include large swathes of its historic core
PROVINCETOWN — Four winter storms in the last seven years have pushed seawater across Commercial Street and into neighborhoods, inundating homes and businesses near town hall in 2018, along Howland […]
