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 […]
Environment
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 […]
MORNING FLIGHT
A Visitor From Old Cape Cod on Wellfleet’s Great Island
A sighting of a prairie specialty is a reminder of local landscapes past
Wellfleet’s Great Island on a mid-October morning was full of the usual suspects for this time of year — the beaches were dotted with black-bellied plovers, the bayberries were dripping […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 31 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
Climate, Not Wind Farms, Is Called Threat to Whales
Scientists say turbine noise pales in comparison to ship strikes, entanglement, and loss of feeding grounds
PROVINCETOWN — The first turbine of the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project, eight miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, was successfully installed on Oct. 18. Meanwhile, some who are working against […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 24 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ZONING
ZBA Again Denies Permit for Wellfleet Contractor’s Yard
The board’s decision sends the case back to Land Court
WELLFLEET — The well-groomed entryway to the GFM Enterprises contractor’s yard on Route 6 may score high for good looks, but the zoning board of appeals wasn’t interested in those aesthetics […]
ENVIRONMENT
Beeches Get ‘Old-Growth’ Designation Amid Uncertain Future
The Beech Forest is inaugurated into the Old-Growth Forest Network despite its decimation by beech leaf disease
PROVINCETOWN — Nearly two dozen tree enthusiasts, some with binoculars slung around their necks, others carrying walking sticks, hovered around the head of the Beech Forest trail on the morning […]
MORNING FLIGHT
The Unusual Sex Life of the White-Throated Sparrow
In October, a bird with four sexes comes to winter with us
For birders, fall is not just one season. The whole period from July to December is characterized by southbound migration, sure. But really, a birder’s fall is a string of […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 17 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
EXCURSIONS
Provincetown’s Fifth Grade Finds Beauty in the Dunes
Digging and rolling, finding tracks and foraging to learn about the natural world
PROVINCETOWN — As he trekked across the dunes with half of the fifth-grade class from the Provincetown IB Schools, Mark Adams slowed the pace for a moment to call attention […]
REBOUND
Researchers Find Horseshoe Crabs Thriving in East Harbor
20 years after Truro opens a valve, sea creatures continue a comeback
NORTH TRURO — For nearly 150 years, North Truro’s East Harbor was an oxygen-depleted saltwater-turned-freshwater lake, cut off from Cape Cod Bay by a manmade dike. Now, thanks to the […]
FIRST RESPONDERS
Saving the Misfits of the Ocean
Most Mola mola strandings on Cape Cod happen in Wellfleet Harbor
WELLFLEET — Every fall, Carol “Krill” Carson gets a little bit busier. Carson’s nonprofit, the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), is the only organization in the region dedicated to […]
