Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are held both online and in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, Oct. 17
- Energy and Climate Action Committee, 7 p.m., Adult Community Center & online
Friday, Oct. 18
- Cultural Council, 1 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 21
- Shellfish Advisory Board walk, 8:30 a.m., Chipman’s Cove
- Shellfish Advisory Board, 4 p.m. Adult Community Center and online
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Elementary School
- Special Town Meeting, 6 p.m., Elementary School
Wednesday, Oct. 23
- Board of Health, 5:30 p.m., Adult Community Center and online
Conversation Starters
Restoring a Trout Run
While the state’s largest saltwater marsh restoration project is underway at the Herring River, The National Park Service is embarking on a much smaller restoration.
The Seashore’s chief of natural resource management and science Geoff Sanders presented a plan to the select board on Oct. 1 to restore a native brook trout population at Fresh Brook in South Wellfleet.
Fresh Brook is a small spring-fed stream cut off by the Cape Cod Rail Trail and Route 6 near the dueling floatie stores. Historically, it was the only cold-water stream on the Outer Cape that supported a sea run for brook trout spawning. But a weir, or a small dam, installed under the Cape Cod Rail Trail has prevented tidal exchange and fish passage, emptying the river of its native population.
The Seashore plans to remove the weir and reintroduce the native population into the stream. The permitting process is underway and may take a year, Sanders said. But construction is “the easiest part of the project,” which will only entail removing the concrete headwall from the structure.
Restoration ecologist Tim Smith said once tidal flow is restored, the only trout species native to Cape Cod will once again thrive there. “As long as habitat conditions are in place, which is primarily cold flowing water, they will take to that,” Smith said. —Sam Pollak
A Welcome, a Wall-Raising
Wendy Cullinan, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, told the Independent that the community kick-off — a chance for townspeople to meet the owners of four affordable homes to be build on Old Kings Highway — will happen on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, not Tuesday, Oct. 22 as previously reported in these pages.
A wall-raising ceremony for the homes has been scheduled for Nov. 2. —Parker Mumford
