WELLFLEET — As you drive down Griffins Island Road toward Duck Harbor, your eyes are drawn to what looks at first like a treeless wasteland. On closer inspection, you notice […]
Environment
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. 15 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
TURTLE WATCH
Warmer Waters Put Sea Turtles on Collision Course With Humans
More turtles on Cape Cod’s shores means a higher risk of boat strikes
WELLFLEET — Rising North Atlantic Ocean temperatures are causing increased numbers of threatened and endangered sea turtles to migrate through Massachusetts waters — heading north in search of food, then […]
BEE KILLERS
Uptick in Spraying Is Harming Local Pollinators
Insecticide rules are lax, and mosquito treatments don’t work anyway, scientists say
WELLFLEET — For years, ecologist and beekeeper John Portnoy has sold up to three varieties of honey at the Wellfleet Farmers Market — each made from the nectar of seasonal […]
TURTLE WATCH
Warmer Waters Put Sea Turtles on Collision Course With Humans
More turtles on Cape Cod’s shores means a higher risk of boat strikes
WELLFLEET — Rising North Atlantic Ocean temperatures are causing increased numbers of threatened and endangered sea turtles to migrate through Massachusetts waters — heading north in search of food, then […]
COASTAL RESILIENCY
Conservation Commission Mulls Tough Case in West End
Proposal to expand a waterfront deck seaward is ‘highly unusual’
This article was updated on Aug. 10. PROVINCETOWN — Mass. Wetlands Protection Act regulations state that “any project on a coastal beach … shall not have an adverse effect by […]
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. 8 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENTANGLEMENT
Monofilament’s Grip Threatens Humpback Calf
CCS and IFAW are ‘regrouping’ after sedation efforts fail
PROVINCETOWN — Cape Codders have become acutely aware that whales in the Gulf of Maine face perilous struggles with ocean debris, especially discarded rope that obstructs their paths and entangles […]
CLIMATE CHANGE
Provincetown Wants a Plan for Coping With Rising Sea Level
Learning to ‘work with water’ will be key to resiliency
PROVINCETOWN — Like all coastal areas, the Outer Cape may look unrecognizable in 2100 if worst-case sea-level rise projections — six to eight feet here — come to pass. But […]
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. 1 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
OCEAN SANCTUARY
State Agency Denies Holtec’s Permit Change
DEP’s draft decision blocks path to nuclear wastewater release for now
PLYMOUTH — The state Dept. of Environmental Protection issued a draft determination on July 24 denying a permit modification that would have allowed Holtec, the company decommissioning the shuttered Pilgrim […]
BEACH MONITORING
Cooks Brook Beach Reopens After a Two-Week Closure
Bacterial growth could have been encouraged by beach erosion
EASTHAM — The closure of Cooks Brook Beach on the Cape Cod Bay side of Eastham from July 8 to 21 seems to have been caused by natural bacterial flourishing […]
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 25 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT EXCHANGE
Visitors From Mexico Take Lessons From the Herring River
Four university students from Michoacán learn about rallying a village
WELLFLEET — The decades-long fight to unite local stakeholders behind the restoration of the Herring River — the largest salt marsh restoration project in Massachusetts history — has created ripples […]
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 18 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
