Association to Preserve Cape Cod - this week... |
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| Motivated by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director
Last week we were told to minimize time outside because the air was unhealthy. This week, at least for my neighbors and me on Mashpee Wakeby Pond, we are told to avoid the water because of a potentially toxic cyanobacteria bloom. This one-two punch has released a flood of emotions, but the most persistent and dominant one is an urge to act more aggressively to push back on the assaults against the environment. Not to sound maudlin, but we each only get so many trips around the sun. The 2023 June weeks of missed time outside and in the water are lost; we don’t get them back on the other side. In addition to being saddened, I’m equal parts mad and motivated.
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The realization that human behaviors are degrading places and resources hits us all differently. I get it if the sense of loss makes you want to sit in a dark room with a pint of Four Seas ice cream or to just throw in the towel. I had a few minutes of that on Sunday after hearing about the cyano closure in my backyard. I’m also very aware that I am lucky and that we here on Cape Cod enjoy much higher quality air and water than a huge percentage of the population. The things that we consider an inconvenience are an inescapable fact of life for millions.
In response to my own personal experience and the reminder that millions of people don’t have the option to stay in air-conditioned space or the option to avoid contaminated water, my thinking has changed. I want to push harder and more aggressively, not just on getting my town to take wastewater management and nutrient control more seriously, but across the board on climate management, open space preservation and water resources protection.
I have always considered myself a bit of an incrementalist, but perhaps no more. I am now realizing that the ticking of the clock has grown louder, not just because I am getting older, but because many of our natural systems have been pushed to the edge of the cliff. When they go over the edge, we go with them. Incrementalism might make sense, but not when time is short. How you spend your time is up to you, but I’m going keep swinging. I hope you will recommit yourself to action. Educate yourself, write letters, speak up, vote and make your opinions heard. Pushing for change may or may not make change but without the effort nothing will get better.
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Mashpee River and Shoestring Bay - photography by Jason Goldstein |
This is what poor water quality in our coastal embayments looks like. That's a runaway algal bloom, developing especially thick mats along the shoreline and throughout the waterway. It's unsightly and stinky when it decays. And as it decays, the water is depleted of oxygen that other marine organisms need to survive. For ways you can help turn the tide on nutrients entering Cape Cod's waterways, click here. |
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Machine Gun Range Should Not be a Condition for Potential DOD Bridge Funding
Last month, senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and representatives William Keating and Seth Moulton submitted a request to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking $100 million in defense funding for the Cape Cod Canal bridges replacement project. In response to that request, APCC last week sent a letter to the Massachusetts Congressional lawmakers asking them to clarify that any potential DOD funding for the bridges project will not be provided in exchange for their support of the multipurpose machine gun range proposed for Joint Base Cape Cod. APCC also sought assurances that no pressure will be exerted on the Environmental Protection Agency to amend its findings that the machine gun range project has the potential to contaminate the Cape’s aquifer and create a significant public health hazard. Read APCC’s letter.
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Our restoration staff were out on site in Barnstable last week reviewing maintenance of stormwater systems we’ve worked with the town of Barnstable and Horsley Witten Group, Inc. to install over the past few years to improve water quality in the bays. These green systems require new and different maintenance and kudos to the town for all their work to train staff and provide their upkeep. Love seeing the flowering plants! We hope to take lessons learned from this work around the Three Bays to apply to other stormwater projects across the Cape.
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Thank you to herring count volunteers! ~ Herring counts have ended and volunteers are urged to enter data by June 30
Thank you to all of the many volunteers who counted herring this year! The 2023 herring counts have ended, and preliminary tallies suggest that some herring runs may have done better this year.
We ask that if you are using APCC’s online data entry system, please enter your counts by June 30, 2023. The online data entry system is on APCC’s website at https://apcc.org/our-work/science/community-science/herring/herring-count-volunteers/ under “Enter your herring count data online”. After June 30, the system will be closed to further data entries.
If you are a count coordinator and are compiling your group’s counts, you are welcome to send your completed count spreadsheet to Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto at [email protected] for a review of the counts. Jo Ann will then send the QAed data to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to calculate estimated run sizes. The resulting run sizes will be posted on our website as they are received. Your help has been invaluable in having a better understanding about the herring populations. Thank you!
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Pond Volunteers in Brewster... |
Weir Creek Salt Marsh Restoration
Seeking Community Input! |
Public input on proposed restoration and plans for redesign is encouraged and appreciated. Join us for a public meeting about the timeline and scope of restoring tidal flow to Weir Creek marsh in South Dennis. Thursday, June 15, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Police Community Meeting Room, Dennis Police Station 90 Bob Crowell Rd, South Dennis 02660 (next to Town Hall)
Please Register HERE
Please join the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the town of Dennis, Tighe & Bond, and Woods Hole Group to learn about the proposed restoration of Weir Creek. There will be a discussion about the status of the marsh, and the plans for study and redesign of two culverts under Lower County Road. Learn about the potential impacts of this restoration, share your knowledge about the history of the site, and discuss your concerns about Weir Creek and existing flooding in the area.
Please direct questions to April Wobst, APCC restoration ecologist ([email protected]), or Tom Andrade ([email protected]), town engineer with the town of Dennis.
Funding for this project has been provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund, and the EPA Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Implementation Grants through collaboration with Restore America’s Estuaries. |
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Join us for an APCC Webinar |
"Hanging in the Balance" Thursday, June 22 at 12:00 p.m. Zoom Webinar - Registration HERE
APCC executive director, Andrew Gottlieb, will discuss APCC’s recent natural resource assessment: Hanging in the Balance: An Urgent Call for Protecting Cape Cod’s Natural Resources. The report examines past and present impacts to natural resources, current threats, case studies, and recommended actions that promote protection, preservation, and restoration of the region’s most important resource areas. See more information about this report on APCC’s website here.
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| Voice Your Support for the EPA’s Report on the Machine Gun Range
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined that the multipurpose machine gun range proposed by the Massachusetts Army National Guard on the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve would create “a significant public health hazard” due to potential contamination of the region’s drinking water supply. If the draft determination is finalized, federal funding to construct the project will not be allowed. The public comment period ends on June 26. A final decision will be issued by the EPA at the end of the comment period.
The public comment period gives us the opportunity to let the EPA know that concerned Cape Cod citizens and visitors support its draft determination—that the machine gun range poses too much of a risk to our drinking water supply and should be prohibited from being constructed.
CLICK HERE for a sample message and talking points. |
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The Provincetown Film Festival Friday, June 16, 2:00 p.m. at Town Hall Tickets |
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Celebrating Cape-friendly Landscapes! |
Do you have a Cape-friendly landscape to share? Tell us your story, send a few pictures and a brief description or comment to [email protected] |
Want to learn about ways you can make your landscape more Cape-friendly? Our team will come visit with you at your property and help you identify steps you can take to conserve water, protect water quality, support pollinators and birds, reduce your carbon footprint. A written report will provide you with more details and resources for more information about your interests. For more information CLICK HERE.
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VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR POND MONITORING PROGRAM |
Want to contribute to the study of Cape Cod's freshwater ponds, learn more about our ponds, and have some fun? We are seeking volunteers to accompany APCC staff in a canoe and assist with the data collection.
Minimum time commitment is a full morning: A volunteer shift is 7:30 a.m. to ~ 12:30 p.m. Sampling days are Monday through Thursday. Once per month. Sign up for one time or more!
Physical ability. Volunteer must be comfortable being on the water and have the physical ability to get in and out of a canoe, to paddle to deepest point of pond, and to safely pivot in their seat to assist with the sampling and recording information on a field data sheet.
Pond monitoring will be conducted by APCC staff at the deepest point in the pond. Staff will use a canoe, and with the help of volunteers will measure depth, Secchi disk depth, water quality parameters using a sonde, and collection of water samples for lab analyses of nutrients, chlorophyll, and alkalinity. Lab analyses will be done by the Center for Coastal Studies, a state-certified laboratory contracted by APCC. If you are interested in learning more, please SIGN UP HERE. |
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The Jewels of Cape Cod ~ Our Freshwater Ponds |
Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata) - The flowers are a favorite of our native bees and other pollinators, even ruby-throated hummingbirds. What's growing around or in your pond? Here's a resource to help you learn more: DCR Guide to Aquatic Plants |
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.
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| By popular request...
APCC Caps are now available for purchase! $25 includes shipping & handling Click here for more information and to order. ~ This is one great way to show your support for APCC's work. |
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APCC's 3rd Annual Native Perennial Plant Sale |
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Thank you to BlueFlax Design, LLC, sole sponsor of the plant sale. |
| WOWSA! 120+ orders in less than 3 hours! Over 1,300 plants! We are still giving a shoutout to the volunteers who helped make the plant sale an enormous success. Thank you. |
A few plants left: Selfheal (20)
Turtlehead (18) Prairie Dropseed (10)
$8 each plus tax, 1qt pots If you are interested in purchasing, email [email protected] |
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector
~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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| Arrowwood, Viburnum dentatum |
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News from the Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod -
The National Organization of Pollinator Pathway has named Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod one of the top 15 pathways in the country. This wonderful designation is a reflection of the hard work and enthusiasm of all of the PPCC members and individuals who are making a difference with their properties. Congratulations to all!
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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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| 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 are archived on our website and easily shared.
You can find past newsletters and share with your friends to sign up for future enewsletters 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 |
Expressions Gallery donates 20 percent of its profits to APCC's work. |
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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