I’ve always loved visiting nature in ways that make me feel out of my element. We have so dominated nature, so domesticated it, so segregated it from our normal lives […]
Environment
PINK FLAMINGOS
A Local Rose Has Its Day
The last days of May saw the first beachside blooms of the naturalized Asian species Rosa rugosa, and June was filled with the dramatic, arching white displays of multiflora rose, […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Monday, July 1 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
THE DREDGE REPORT
In Wellfleet, Mooring Means Your Rudder’s in the Mud
The upside: there’s no waiting list for a spot in the field
WELLFLEET — It’s been so long since the mooring field in the harbor was dredged that those most familiar with the marina can only guess how many boats it might […]
BLOODSUCKERS
Rains and Floods Set Stage for Another Mosquito Boom
Mosquito control experts worry home-rule petitions could prevent larvicide use
WELLFLEET — It’s not just you — even the county’s mosquito control experts say 2024 is shaping up to be a bad year for the bugs. They’re also worried that […]
MILKWEED
A Commoner for the Monarchs
There are many threats to the survival of the monarch, that iconic orange-and-black butterfly that migrates each summer from Mexico to the Northeast and back over multiple generations. One is […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 25 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
FLOW STATE
Truro Pursues Return of Pamet Salt Marsh
Part of a project to restore habitat is on June 27 ballot
TRURO — The Pamet is not just a tidal river but an entire estuarial system — albeit an altered one — that stretches the width of Truro. At its eastern […]
‘RISK-SIGNIFICANT’ EVENTS
Holtec Confirms Pilgrim Worker Was Contaminated
Reactor’s owner downplays incident while revising wastewater permit wording
PLYMOUTH — An incident that exposed a worker at the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to airborne radioactive contamination was confirmed on June 14 by Patrick O’Brien, spokesman for Holtec […]
MORNING FLIGHT
In Wellfleet, Watching a Bird That Relies on Us
Pushed out by starlings, purple martins need nests made by humans
At this time of year, a unique birdsong rings out over the parking lot at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s jumbled and metallic, almost bubbly, and unlike any […]
SEEDY AND SUNBAKED
Oh Lanceolata, Thou Showeth Up Everywhere
Yellow-blooming species of the Coreopsis genus are not native to New England, though several have come from elsewhere in the country to naturalize here. The most widespread visitor is Coreopsis lanceolata, a tough […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, June 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
NATIONAL SEASHORE
After a Spring Collapse, Longnook Beach Is Open Again
The beach is still best for the steely, not the faint of foot
TRURO — Longnook Beach reopened on May 16 after a two-month closure caused by extreme coastal erosion. The dune under the steep sandy pathway that leads from the parking lot […]
THE HIGH ROAD
Bound Brook Island Road Unbounded by Temporary Fix
DPW’s just-in-time job will do until the Herring River Project’s road-raising begins
WELLFLEET — For most of the winter and spring, repeated flooding has left Bound Brook Island periodically cut off from the rest of town. For months, the island’s 11 property […]
BENEFICIAL INSECTS
Life Among the Dragonflies and Damselflies
Watching as the odes emerge for their one short season in the sun
If you are in the right place and at the right time, you might find yourself among the dragonflies and damselflies as they emerge from their natal coastal ponds and […]
