Association to Preserve Cape Cod - this week... |
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The Season Starts Now by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director
Nomination papers for spring municipal elections are now available in many towns. Now is the time that those of us concerned about the environment in general, and specifically water quality, need to pay attention. You may not think that it matters, but whoever sits on key municipal decision-making boards profoundly affects what happens in your town. You have an opportunity to shape precisely how your community improves water quality and how quickly that improvement comes.
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You have more reason to be engaged this year than most. We are fresh off a public comment process for much needed clean water rules proposed by DEP. The comment process was revealing in that it exposed many imposters, people who have talked the talk of wanting clean water but, when given the chance, wouldn’t walk the walk. The positions taken against the clean water rules by many municipal officials, both elected and appointed, exposed what can most generously be described as a lack of urgency and revealed a deep-seated antipathy against taking real steps to confront the issue. At worst it was misinformation and fear mongering designed to distract people from the reality that the state-mandated homeowner requirement to upgrade septic systems would go away if their town simply did its job looking out for the best interests of the community and applied for a watershed permit. Rather than acknowledge the central responsibility of towns to act collectively on behalf of their residents as the town of Eastham’s excellent comments did, others resorted to misdirection and exaggeration to avoid assuming an obligation to act in a timely manner. I suspect, and hope, that I am not alone in thinking the municipal official who promotes 40- and 50-year horizons to restore water quality as all that is attainable is simply not serious about it.
The good news here is, through their comments on the DEP regulatory proposals, we voters now have a pretty good sense of where our elected officials, and the appointed people who work for them, stand on the matter. It is your responsibility as a voter for whom the environment is important to educate yourself on how a candidate’s actions reflect the positions they have taken and to vote accordingly. It is also your chance to evaluate candidates on very specific questions about water quality and timing of investments in clean water. If you don’t like the candidates, recruit new ones. Better yet, run yourself. Either way, don’t settle.
In life, it is often said, timing is everything. Ask yourself if a commitment to act on this issue is really a commitment at all when it means that you and, quite possibly, your children will no longer be alive to see it happen. For me, it’s not. And I vote that way. You should too. |
APCC is Accepting Applications for the Following Positions
For more information on these position openings, CLICK HERE. |
THE LEAN MONTHS by Jill Glover
The winter season now envelops us. The weather of December and January ranged from a daytime high in the fifties to a nighttime low in the teens. We had a number of days with rain and gusty winds. A beautiful dusting of snow fell on both Christmas eve and day. Regardless of the fluctuating conditions, the flora and fauna have prepared for dormancy and assumed behaviors for the cold and lean months ahead. New Year’s Day unfolded with clear skies and warm sunshine. A few birds perhaps mistook the weather for a seemingly early spring day: a hairy woodpecker heard drilling, as well as northern cardinal, Carolina wren and song sparrow singing. These behaviors are usually associated with staking out territory before breeding season. The bog and surrounding woods are quieter now. The chattering of small flocks of birds in the shrub rows and the rustling of leaves, still remaining on some of the oak and beech trees, breaking the silence. There are thin layers of ice that come and go around the edges of the pond and bog.
The muted colors of the winter vegetation have its undaunted contenders. Patches of green feathery fronds of lady fern arch on embankments and waxy green leaves of holly trees are interspersed in the woods. Under foot, maroon creeping potentilla mingles with the worn out leaves and grasses. The bronzed patches of bearberry still cling to rocky ledges. The standout to me is the striped wintergreen. They are cheery small plants growing in patches. Eye-caching, no doubt, with their single white striped green leaves, whorled around a red stem.
A few days ago, I came across a scattering of feathers on the ground. Most numerous were the tail feathers of a red-tailed hawk, an immature due to the bands that were still visible. I saw a few primaries and an array of other plumage in the area. A family of red-tailed hawks (RT hawk) frequented the bog and wooded areas during the summer and fall, mostly seen overhead.
The hooting of great horned owls is often heard in the same vicinity. Great horned owls are territorial year-round. When food is abundant the nocturnal owls and the diurnal hawks do not usually interfere with each other. Although there are documented encounters of the owls preying on nestling hawks. The great horned owl (GH owl) is one of the earliest raptors to prepare for the breeding season, generally in mid-February or early March. Their nest is usually at the site of a previously prepared raptor or corvid. The GH owl will enlarge and repair the accommodations.
During the winter the competition for food is high. Territorial behavior increases. A GH owl will take the opportunity to attack a roosting red-tailed hawk near dusk or dawn. This particularly occurs when a bird is immature or in poor condition.
The GH owl is a larger bird than the RT hawk, weighing about ½ lb more and the length being about three inches or longer. Although, the wing span of a RT hawk is about five inches longer, it is not much of an advantage when roosting. Normally a GH owl will return to their roost to consume their prey. Later they will regurgitate the non-digestible parts as a “pellet,” often found below a favorite roosting spot. In the case of larger prey, such as a RT hawk, the prey will be plucked first making it easier to fly away with. I believe this is the situation I came upon.
So, the quiet walks I have been taking the past couple of months also have much unseen activity. As I finish these notes of the past two months, February has arrived and with it, subzero weather. Who knows what is happening unseen amongst the flora and fauna during the lean months of the Cape Cod woods. |
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The 2023 Land to Sea Speaker series is hosted by Clean Ocean Access through funding from SNEP and sponsored by the Horsley Witten Group.
Jordan Mora, APCC restoration ecologist, will provide a presentation focused on why humans and ecosystems benefit from improved stormwater management through green infrastructure practices. She will draw upon experiences and lessons learned from two green stormwater infrastructure projects that APCC has managed over the last six years on Cape Cod: one regional-scale project targeting public boat ramps and one watershed-scale project geared towards nutrient mitigation.
This is an online presentation. Tuesday, February 21st, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. To register CLICK HERE. |
The Jewels of Cape Cod ~ Our Freshwater Ponds |
Cedar Lake by Joyce Bock
I have lived on Cedar Lake in North Falmouth for 41 years. Little did I realize in 1980 how much a body of water becomes part of one's life. Looking out the window every day is a new adventure. There is always something to look at. It might be the slow, subtle changes of the seasons, or the territorial fights of swans. Spring brings the return of osprey who dive into the water in search of fish. Late spring should bring the raucous sound of bullfrogs, although the noise is greatly diminished these days. Summer should bring…
I stopped writing here. I could see all the negative thoughts coming and decided no one wanted to read all that. Excess vegetation is clogging the entire lake. The sound of bullfrogs was essentially gone. Fewer osprey were searching for fish because they couldn’t see them through the dense growth. You could barely push a paddle through the water. The lake tested positive for potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooms. And yucky stuff, most likely algae, was everywhere. Things looked grim indeed.
In March 2021, Friends of Cedar Lake was incorporated. We partnered with APCC and did the first testing of the water. Very low dissolved oxygen at the bottom of the lake appeared to be the largest red flag. In July 2022, several people attended a workshop sponsored by Falmouth Water Stewards and presented by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. There we discovered that fanwort is 90 percent of our problem. Fanwort is an invasive, non-native plant that spreads everywhere. It can arrive in a body of water via a boat bringing it from another pond, or via a duck, or, very likely, from someone dumping their aquarium into a pond. Fanwort is sold as decoration for aquariums. Fortunately, we were advised that an herbicide exists that treats just the fanwort with no adverse effects on wildlife.
I have now lived on Cedar Lake for 43 years. Things are looking up. Friends of Cedar Lake has raised half of the $40,000 cost of remediation and is actively seeking grant money to make up the difference. We are planning to apply the herbicide in July 2023 and follow up applications will be needed to maintain the improvement. We are so very hopeful this will encourage the wildlife to stay and improve recreational opportunities to enjoy this precious habitat.
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Learn about other aquatic species that are not native to Massachusetts waters, as well as potential invasive species: Click here. |
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Pond Stories is a collection of writings and other media from Cape Codders and visitors who love the 890 local ponds that dot the Cape. We hope this collection of stories awakens your inner environmentalist to think deeper about our human impacts to these unique bodies of water. |
Send us your favorite pond photo, story, poem, video, artwork—we want to share with everyone why the Cape's ponds and lakes are so special! Email your pond connection to [email protected] |
Have a favorite pond? Want to connect with others who are active in protecting their ponds? Join the Cape Cod Ponds Network. For more information about past meetings of the Pond Network and to sign up (scroll down the page), click here. The next meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, February 27th.
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February's virtual Open House will include an overview of AVANGRID’s work in Barnstable and the Park City Wind project. Park City Wind will be landing cables underneath the Craigville Beach parking lot in Centerville. You can find out more at ParkCityWind.com/events. Wednesday, February 8
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. via ZOOM |
February's hybrid Open House will include an overview of AVANGRID’s work in Barnstable and the Commonwealth Wind project. Commonwealth Wind proposes a cable landing underneath the Dowses Beach parking lot in Osterville. You can find out more at CommonwealthWind.com/events. Thursday, February 23
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Osterville Library, 43 Wianno Ave, Osterville or attend via ZOOM
If you have any technical issues with Zoom, please contact Rachel Lake at [email protected] |
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SAVE THE DATE! Thursday, May 11th at 7 p.m.
For an APCC Film Event The Erie Situation with panel discussion to follow
at the Cape Cinema, Dennis Tickets $15 through Cape Cinema
Proceeds support APCC |
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The Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod is a group of organizations promoting native plants and pollinator-friendly land care practices to create a boat load of safe oases for our native bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators that are crucial to the health of our ecosystems. Join us! It's easy. There are no fees. You just need to pledge to ADD native plants, SUBTRACT a little lawn, AVOID yard chemicals, especially pesticides, and LEAVE the leaves. And, help us spread the word. If you wish, please get on the map to show your support of pollinators!
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-finder
~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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Black Cohosh / Bugbane - Actaea racemosa |
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| Rain Barrels for Cape Cod
Order online from Upcycle Products $99 each includes FedEx shipping to your door
APCC receives a portion of the proceeds.
For more information, click here. |
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| APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters will now be archived on our website and easily shared. Here, you can find past newsletters from July 2022 on.
Share this with your friends and they can sign up HERE. |
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Are you thinking of going solar? We hope so! In partnership with SUNPOWER BY E2 SOLAR in Dennis, APCC receives $500 for every solar installation when APCC is named as referral. |
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| Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar. May the sun always shine for you! |
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Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham
CLICK HERE |
Ocean to Office. APCC has partnered with EXPRESSIONS, a fine art photography gallery located in Chatham center, to provide Cape businesses the opportunity to beautify their offices with coastal photography while directly supporting protection of our cherished environment. This special offering gives back to APCC. CLICK HERE to learn more. |
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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