EASTHAM — The Cape Cod National Seashore announced last week that the Bartlett House, a gray shingled ranch overlooking Coast Guard Beach, is no longer safe for habitation, as it is now only 13 feet away from the edge of the bluff.

Just last year, the house did not appear to be in such dire straits. In April 2023, the structure was about 45 feet from the edge. But by the fall, salt water had infiltrated the freshwater well. The Park removed the house’s cesspool last year.

Now, unless a third party steps in, the Park plans to demolish the house “before it is claimed by the sea,” the Seashore’s announcement says.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, one-story house was built in 1960 but was acquired from its owner, H. Craigin Bartlett, by the Park Service in 1964. For decades it was used for seasonal employee housing and, more recently, for short-term vacation rentals, according to the National Seashore.

The structure was deemed uninhabitable by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on July 9. That triggered the start of a 20-day period during which HUD’s decision could be appealed. Now that the 20 days are up, any interested state or local government or organization assisting homeless people could make a bid for the house.

Any organization awarded the house would be required to move it from its current location, according to Susan Reece, the National Seashore’s chief of interpretation, education, and cultural resources.

But moving the house might not be possible. In the final determination made by the HUD, which was shared in part with the Independent, the assessors concluded that “due to the age and unique structural design of the house, the park feels confident the house will collapse or break apart if moved.”

Hadley Luddy, CEO of the Orleans-based Homeless Prevention Council, told the Independent in an email that the organization had no plans to bid on the property. Eastham Town Planner Paul Lagg did not respond to questions before this week’s deadline.

Erosion Hot Spots

On average, the National Seashore is losing three feet per year to coastal erosion. The section of the bluff right before the Bartlett House, however, has eroded at a far faster pace: between November 2023 and April 2024, the bluff lost approximately 18 feet, according to Reece.

“The Seashore has been experiencing the natural process of erosion for eons,” said Reece. “Strong storms and wind and water patterns all have an effect on erosion, as does soil composition.”

Mark Adams, a biologist, artist, and retired Seashore cartographer who has studied coastal erosion on the Outer Cape, told the Independent that long-term erosion on the seaside bluffs from Eastham to Truro is moving at a very predictable rate — about one meter per year. But short-term “erosion hot spots” can alter a bluff much more quickly.

Adams said that climate change seems to be playing a role.

An elevated section of the ocean floor off the coast of Cape Cod called Georges Bank has provided a natural barrier that weakens waves coming from the open ocean to our shores. But “one of the measurable effects of sea level rise is more waves from the southeast,” Adams said, “because Georges Bank is not protecting the Cape in the way it did 1,000 years ago.”

Erosion, he said, is the result of waves scarring the bluff and eroding its base. Bigger waves mean more concentrated wave energy pounding the shore.

Making Moves

If a local organization does choose to take over the Bartlett House, there are some precedents for moving structures away from fast-eroding cliffs. The Truro Dept. of Public Works successfully moved a small house that was threatened by erosion, along with another house that had stood on the Walsh property, to town-owned land farther inland in February.

In 2022, the facilities at Nauset Light Beach were moved away from the dune’s edge. For that project, the National Seashore installed new septic and water systems and either demolished or relocated restrooms, the lifeguard room, and the first aid room.

Similar projects to move structures back from the shoreline occurred at Herring Cove in 2013 and 2018. And the National Seashore removed eight cottages from North Beach Island in Chatham because of erosion from 2007 to 2012, according to Reece.

Reece told the Independent that there is no uniform distance that can make a building safe from erosion. “A safe distance is dependent on a number of variables (e.g., the size and weight of the structure, soil composition, weather, etc.),” she said. “Each situation is unique.”