eNewsletter

Peak bloom season for white water lilies on Cape Cod is July through August—which means now. Water lilies, Nymphaea odorata, are a cornerstone species in Cape Cod’s pond ecosystems and thrive in the various kettle ponds of the Cape.

The natural native vegetation around a pond provides valuable habitat for a diversity of life.

Last month, APCC completed the largest salt marsh planting to date on Cape Cod, and—to our knowledge—the largest in Massachusetts. With the team from SumCo Eco-Landscaping, over 90,000 Spartina alterniflora plants were installed across four large bare patches in the marsh.

Each spring, river herring return from the ocean to Cape Cod’s streams and ponds to spawn. By early summer, the direction of travel begins to change.

Have you ever wondered how Cape Cod’s freshwater kettle ponds stay full of water? The Cape’s kettle ponds are not typically fed by streams or rivers. Rather, most are connected to groundwater—the water beneath our feet.

The water continues to warm up, which means summer is just around the corner. Water temperatures are just beginning to be warm enough for the pumpkinseed sunfish of Cape Cod to begin getting active.

Recently, we asked you to take action on behalf of the Cape’s unique and fragile environment by writing to your legislators regarding problematic language in the Senate’s otherwise good “Mass Ready Act” (S. 3064) that threatens local wetland protections and wastewater management requirements.

This past week brought a beautiful encounter for one of our pond teams. APCC Pond Technician May Lopopolo came across this Eastern tiger swallowtail at Gull Pond in Wellfleet while preparing to paddle out in the canoe to collect water quality data.

This spring, herring are once again running strong at the Stony Brook Herring Run. Thanks to the dedication of more than 50 volunteer monitors, more than 20,000 cumulative herring have already been counted migrating upstream into Mill Pond to spawn.

Cape Cod’s coastal systems are always telling us something. A stream running lower than expected. River herring arriving later than in years past. Fish holding below a barrier instead of moving upstream. A shell worn smooth by time, tide, and sand. A familiar pattern shifting just enough to make me stop and look again.