Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 5 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
Environment
RADIOACTIVITY
Nearly 200,000 Gallons of Pilgrim Nuclear Waste Vaporized
DEP is waiting to see ‘if they choose to evaporate the water in an active way’
PLYMOUTH — While the debate over the proposed discharge of 1.1 million gallons of radioactive wastewater from the Pilgrim nuclear plant into Cape Cod Bay goes on, Holtec Decommissioning International, […]
PENALTY
Wellfleet Select Board Chooses $4.5M Penalty Over Mitigation Plan
After 2 years of work, dredging task force members quit, citing verbal attacks
WELLFLEET — The select board has directed the dredging task force to pay $4.5 million for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers instead of moving forward with […]
PLOVER PLIGHT
It’s Been a Record Year for Piping Plovers
The ‘cultural norm’ and the numbers have shifted on a threatened shorebird
WELLFLEET — Nearly 40 years ago the plump, sand-colored shorebird known as the piping plover was on the verge of extinction in Massachusetts. Now, following decades of conservation, the birds […]
THREE SEASONS
The Beach Plum’s Fall Show
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 28 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
MARINE LIFE
Speeding Boats Are Still Threatening Right Whales
Enforcement lags in waters that were once ‘open cowboy plains’
PROVINCETOWN — When right whales visit the seas around Cape Cod in the winter and early spring, large boats in the whales’ favored areas are barred from going faster than […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Rare Birds in Truro
A blackbird and a lark sparrow illustrate the ‘Patagonia Picnic Table Effect’
Late fall is a good time to find rarities on Cape Cod. A few far-flung birds can be counted on to arrive from the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and […]
VELVETY SUCKERS
Pedal Right Past the Staghorn Sumac’s Velvety Antlers
ROADKILL
The Unseen Toll of Traffic on the Outer Cape’s Animals
Closures, crossing signs, culverts, and just slowing down can prevent squishings
EASTHAM — Eight downy ducklings tried to cross Route 6 near Nauset Road in Eastham on Aug. 1, led by a streaked brown hen. Sometime before 7:30 a.m., a car […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 14 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 7 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
THE RESTORATION
Superstructure Arrives for Temporary Bridge Over Herring River
The new 320-foot one-lane span should be drivable by January
WELLFLEET — The construction site where Chequessett Neck Road crosses the Herring River was bustling on Oct. 24 as pallets of enormous metal squares called truss panels arrived on trucks. […]
CLEAN ENERGY
They’re Getting Smart About Solar in Eastham
It’s more affordable, but fewer people are adopting it
EASTHAM — Massachusetts has a problem, and Eastham is here to help. The state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan calls for net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, which the plan says […]
LOOKING AHEAD
Provincetown and Truro Plan to Expand Water Systems
The need is distant, but infrastructure takes years to prepare
Throughout the last year, Provincetown and Truro have been mapping out the infrastructure improvements that will keep the towns supplied with fresh water far into the future. In presentations last […]
