WELLFLEET — Every spring, river herring known as alewives migrate from the open ocean up Cape Cod’s streams to ponds to lay their eggs. There, their young develop before swimming […]
Environment
MORNING FLIGHT
An Ocean-Going Goose Departs Cape Cod Bay
For humans, it’s hard to fathom what birds like the brant do when they’re away
Once upon a time, a barnacle was a kind of bird. Each winter in medieval England, people who lived on the shore watched as their usual waterfowl — the barnyard-looking […]
WHEN HONEYSUCKLES SUCK
On the Morrow, an Invasion
The deciduous flora of the Cape has just barely begun to awaken and flower — most native trees and shrubs are still hitting snooze — and leaves aren’t on 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, March 26 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
HIGH WATER
Wellfleet’s Bound Brook Island Is Cut Off Again
Short-term solutions to repeated saltwater flooding remain unclear
WELLFLEET — For at least eight days this month, the roads connecting Bound Brook Island to the rest of town have been inundated with floodwater that prevented people from accessing […]
DEVELOPMENT
Two Town Parcels Along Route 6 Are Eyed for Housing
Experts recommend ‘road diets’ to make room for parking but reject paving of Old Colony trail
PROVINCETOWN — The Route 6 right-of-way, a long corridor that belongs to the town, could someday hold two housing developments and up to 110 parking spaces, according to two recent […]
ENVIRONMENT
Mid-Cape Was Warned Last Year About Aging Oil Tank
A second spill sends oily water from cleanup into street and storm drain
WELLFLEET — The tank at Mid-Cape Home Centers on Commercial Street that was discovered to have leaked about 250 gallons of heating oil on Jan. 25 was inspected a year […]
RED SCARE
Salt Pond Closed for a Second Time by Red Tide Toxicity
Warmer winters mean more toxic algal blooms and earlier shellfishing closures
EASTHAM — The town’s dept. of natural resources closed Salt Pond in the Nauset Estuary on March 13 because of “red tide,” an outbreak of single-cell algae that produces a […]
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 19 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RESTORATION UPDATE
25 Acres Get Mulched to Aid Salt Hay’s Return
Temporary bridge nears completion; low-lying roads and Mill Creek work are next
WELLFLEET — The Cape Cod National Seashore, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited and the National Park Foundation, has begun removing 25 acres of mostly live woody vegetation from around the […]
ACCOUNTING
NRC Cites Holtec for Improper Use of Funds
The company’s gifts in four different communities came out of taxpayer trusts
PLYMOUTH — Holtec Decommissioning International has misspent money from the decommissioning trust funds at all four nuclear plants it owns, using it to pay for activities like parades and softball […]
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Observers Document Humpback Sex for the First Time
A same-sex moment provides limited insight into behavior of the species
PROVINCETOWN — The news that the first-known human observation of copulation in humpback whales documented sex between two males of the species has captured imaginations across the globe and perhaps […]
MORNING FLIGHT
When Birding Opens Up ‘a Whole Huge World’
After getting a birding camp scholarship, Megan Morey explores next steps in environmental science
Some people think birding is something only older people do — people who have time on their hands and an ability to focus that supposedly comes only with age. But […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Gray Whale’s New England Visit
Signs of serious warming but also of animals’ adaptability
Greetings from my winter off-Cape worlds of northern Connecticut and New Hampshire. I’m beginning to get excited about returning to Provincetown Harbor for our soon-to-start fishing season. While I sharpen […]
COREMA, COREMA
At First Blush
Of all the native plants, Corema conradii, the broom crowberry, has one of the earliest spring blooms on the Outer Cape if not the very first. It’s a rare plant, common […]
