At first glance, the native evergreen Epigaea repens looks a bit haggard. Its rough, leathery leaves, which have bite marks and brown spots left by the visiting insects it hosts, […]
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, April 9 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
INTO THE MUCK
Wellfleet Board Delays Dredging for Another Year
A stalled $4.5-million override request risks the loss of a $2.5-million grant
WELLFLEET — The harbor mooring basin here was last dredged in 1957. The job, which has been on the town’s agenda for a decade, will now be delayed for yet another […]
WHALE WATCH
Ship Speed Limit Sparks Local Economy Worries
Aimed at protecting right whales, changes could hit ferries and tourism
PROVINCETOWN — This year has proved especially lethal for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, with the discovery on March 30 of a dead female marking the fifth mortality […]
DEVELOPMENT
Eastham’s Pressure-Treated Wood Bylaw Faces Challenge
Attorney tells town its environmental bylaw conflicts with state’s building code
EASTHAM — Eastham is the only town on Cape Cod that prohibits the use of pressure-treated wood in marine environments under its wetlands protection bylaws. But according to an environmental […]
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
The Call of the Catkins
How pussy willows and hazelnuts beckon trysts in the breeze
A walk along the Head of the Meadow bike trail in the first days of spring can be a master class in cold-weather copulation — of the horticultural kind. In […]
ITCHIN’ FOR IT
Pick Your Poison
Poison ivy, whose wood can trigger an allergic rash on contact just like its foliage can, might actually be easier to identify in the off-season when its “leaves of three” […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 2 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
With Herring Count Ahead, a Look at What Aids a Rebound
Removing obstructions and protecting water quality are helping, scientists say
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 […]
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 […]
