WELLFLEET — A report issued in late December by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) singled out Wellfleet’s municipal water system as the only one among 20 on Cape […]
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, Jan. 4 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
Bush-Whacking With AmeriCorps
A band of eight based in Wellfleet support environmental initiatives up and down the Cape
On the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 13, the Wellfleet AmeriCorps cohort — a band of eight 20-somethings, fresh out of college — rolled up near the Shank Painter Wildlife Sanctuary, just off […]
PILGRIM NUCLEAR
Fishing Community Raises Alarm on Radioactive Water
Releases into Cape Cod Bay began as early as 2011, NRC documents show
PLYMOUTH — The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station had slowly drifted out of the public’s consciousness in the years since the troubled reactor’s final shutdown in 2019. But the region’s residents […]
THE RAT REPORT
Town Eschews Poison in Favor of Education
Is rodent birth control the solution?
PROVINCETOWN — Rats are both intelligent and resourceful, requiring those same traits in the humans who would like to get rid of them without also poisoning pets and wildlife. On […]
THE YEAR IN ECOLOGY
Salt Marshes Through the Seasons, So Far
Six months’ worth of lessons about life on the tides for bloodsuckers, turtles, grasses, and golf balls
WELLFLEET — Throughout August, the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater spritzed the outdoor set of Nat Turner in Jerusalem with bug spray, so performers Ricardy Fabre and Robert St. Laurence could […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 28 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ON THE WATERFRONT
Eastham Pulls Out of Nauset Dredging Plan
After investing $600K, Orleans unlikely to find a way forward
EASTHAM — At a joint meeting with the Orleans Select Board on Dec. 13, the Eastham Select Board voted unanimously to pull out of the Nauset Estuary Dredge permitting process. […]
LIGHTBULB MOMENT
Wellfleet’s Long-Awaited Solar Array Is Up and Running
The project stalled because title to land for a utility pole was unclear
WELLFLEET — After a two-year delay, Wellfleet’s solar array is “on.” The power company Eversource and the solar contractor Ameresco flipped the switch on Dec. 9, bringing online 2,400 solar […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 21 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
STICKY WICKET
‘Keep Truro Rural,’ Says Someone
Motives behind the stickers are hazy, as no one will take credit
When questioned by photographer Nancy Bloom, this calf at the Mooney Farm on South Pamet Road denied posting “Keep Truro Rural” stickers around town. (Photo Nancy Bloom)
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 14 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ENVIRONMENT
After Outcry, Holtec Says Pilgrim Effluent Won’t Be Dumped in 2022
Disposal of radioactive water sparks plan for Jan. 24 rally
PLYMOUTH — After public pushback on the proposed release of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, its new owner says it has decided to […]
TURTLE TALK
Audubon Volunteers Rescue More Than 400 Sea Turtles
Chilly waters mean cold-stunned turtles
WELLFLEET — By now, sea turtles, like hundreds of Outer Cape residents, have headed south to dodge the frost. Where these two seasonal populations diverge: reptiles actually paddle out of […]
RECOVERY
Four Days Later, the Carrabassett Is Floated off Longnook Beach
Why it ran aground and what its removal will cost are still unknowns
TRURO — “There was a burst of spontaneous applause as the boat started to move,” said Brewster photographer and artist Steve Kennedy, who was among about 100 people at Longnook […]
