Association to Preserve Cape Cod |
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| New Challenges by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director |
Each new year brings with it a combined sense of excitement and anxiety about what the future may hold. These competing forces are very much at the top of my mind as the calendar flipped to 2024. |
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On the plus side, among other things, there is a great chance that 2024 will bring with it the end to two environmentally damaging proposed projects, the proposed multipurpose machine gun range (MPMGR) at Joint Base Cape Cod and the release of contaminated wastewater into Cape Cod Bay by Holtec.
There will be an unprecedented number of water quality restoration projects supported by state loans if town voters choose to move forward with wastewater management projects this spring. Momentum is building to increase efforts to protect from the housing bulldozer the critical habitats that remain both undeveloped and unprotected. APCC, through its Ecosystem Restoration Program, is poised to undertake restoration work in seven impaired wetland systems if our applications for funding from NOAA are awarded as hoped.
The anxiety comes in part because we can never see all the way around the corner to anticipate what comes next. That said, we know that someone somewhere is working on an idea, a bad one, that will challenge us for a response on behalf of the environment. That is what happened with Holtec and the MPMGR, and it will happen again. Beyond that we rightly wonder what the fate of alternative energy development will be. If we will have the means and the will to take on increasingly rapid changes to the climate that are already impacting important local resources. Will the Cape experience another bad year of cyanobacteria outbreaks, and will it be the pond that you care most about?
There is plenty to worry about and your list is no doubt different that mine, but that is not the part that matters. What matters most is our response. Here at APCC we have invested heavily, with your generous support, in building our programs and staff to be ready to respond to whatever the future holds for us. We have taken some educated guesses about where we can best serve the interests of the Cape’s environment. What you do is up to you, but the view from here is as it has been as long as I’ve been writing this weekly missive. The people who engage, get their hands dirty, and show up are the ones who decide much of what happens. That means it is up to us all to channel both our excitement and anxiety into productive action.
Environmental protection is not a spectator sport. If we want to experience good things in 2024, and beyond, we need to put in the work. The staff at APCC are back at it and ready to pull our weight in 2024. Are you with us? |
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2023 Roundup of APCC's work in the field ~ a few highlights |
In 2023, salt marsh restoration work accomplished by APCC’s Ecosystem Restoration Program included planning and monitoring at multiple locations across the Cape. Restored sites, such as those at Parkers River and Sesuit Creek, provide valuable information for improved restoration and management projects of other sites where planning, design and pre-restoration monitoring are currently underway.
At the same time, lessons learned and experience gained working with local and regional partners on these projects helps to strengthen our broader programmatic work, including stormwater management to improve water quality, river and bog restoration, fish passage improvements, and projects to improve resilience to climate change. |
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Hydrologic monitoring at Seine Pond, Yarmouth. The 2018 bridge reconstruction at the crossing of Parkers River on Route 28 in Yarmouth was finished in 2021. In April 2023, post-restoration water level monitoring and salinity monitoring were completed by APCC, sponsored by Mass DER.
This monitoring showed a tidal range increase upstream of the bridge, and that the salinity range increases at Seine Pond. Post-restoration monitoring is important at these locations as it helps to confirm the modeling predictions and document changes to the system. |
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Vegetation plots in Barnstable Great Marsh. Mass Audubon is hoping to restore the hydrologic function of their portion of Barnstable Great Marsh. APCC’s ERP performed the pre-restoration monitoring here from June - December of 2023. This consisted of characterizing vegetation plots, deploying water level loggers, setting marker horizons, and recording elevations at key locations. The restoration plan will consist of runneling and ditch remediation methods to restore the Mass Audubon marsh to single channel hydrology. |
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Salt marsh channel in Chase Garden Creek, Dennis. APCC performed a rapid salt marsh assessment based on vegetation cover types this summer, as part of a background study and analysis of marsh health along Chase Garden Creek for the Lavori-Sterling Foundation.
This rapid assessment consisted of walking along transects and recording vegetation changes moving from the upland edge to the creek. This method is a quick way to characterize the health or resiliency of different tide sheds in the marsh, and these data were used in tandem with a GIS analysis. |
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Site visit at Jones Lane, Scorton Creek Marsh, Sandwich. APCC's ERP was contracted by the Cape Cod Conservation District at vegetation plots in the Scorton Creek Marsh from July - October. Plans are to replace the culvert where Jones Lane crosses Scorton Creek in Sandwich.
Pre-restoration monitoring from APCC includes vegetation plots and mapping rare and invasive species and pools on the marsh to track changes before and after tidal restoration. This was the first field season where APCC used drone imagery to map vegetation. |
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Post-restoration vegetation monitoring at Sesuit Creek, Dennis. APCC and partners visited Sesuit Creek to check on vegetation plots that were planted in 2018 following the tidal restoration here. APCC's restoration ecologist, April Wobst, was excited to see how big some of these plots had become! Although there are still significant bare patches throughout the marsh, Spartina alterniflora has begun to recover. Data and observations from Sesuit Creek help to inform us about what management strategies are most successful in restored salt marshes. Private foundation funding is sponsoring the work at Sesuit. |
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APCC and project partners from Tighe & Bond, Woods Hole Group, the Town of Dennis, present an initial project outline for the Weir Creek restoration project at a public meeting. APCC is helping with project management for the preliminary funding, data collection, modeling, and early design phases of the Weir Creek tidal restoration. Two culverts on Lower County Road in Dennis are to be replaced, and the project team is seeking public input on the project and hoping to keep stakeholders informed at the different project stages.
This project is currently being funded by grants from the EPA Southeast New England Program Watershed Grant and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. |
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APCC's freshwater pond programs took a giant frog's leap in 2023! It was the first year for the Cape Cod Regional Monitoring Pond Program, funded through the Cape Cod Commission's Freshwater Initiative. Through this program, water quality data is being collected by our staff with the assistance of volunteers for a selected 50 ponds for the next three years. Sampling is done from a canoe with a staff person and a volunteer, two ponds per day.
2023 also marked the sixth year of our Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program, monitoring over 115 ponds bi-weekly with the help of trained volunteers from numerous pond groups, neighborhood associations, and towns. |
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2023 was a year of growth in APCC's programs and year-round staff. The start of this new year seems to be the perfect time to (re)introduce you to everyone whose expertise, passion for the environment, and hard work make it all happen! Here is APCC staff. |
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Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director |
Dorria Marsh, Assistant Education and Outreach Coordinator AND Kristin Andres, Associate Director for Education |
JT Percy, Senior Pond Monitoring Technician |
| Don Keeran, Assistant Director |
Julie Hambrook Berkman, PhD, Pond and Cyanobacteria Program Manager |
Sophia Feuerhake, Freshwater Science Coordinator |
| Jo Ann Muramoto, PhD, Director of Science Programs and Regional Coordinator for Mass Bays on Cape Cod |
Lynn Francis, Pond and Cyanobacteria Operations Manager |
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Jordan Mora, Restoration Ecologist, Eliza Fitzgerald, Restoration Technician April Wobst, Restoration Ecologist |
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Bill Riley, Chief Operation Officer AND Lauren Powers, Grants Administrator |
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Now accepting applications for Pond Monitoring Technician |
APCC seeks a seasonal pond monitoring technician to conduct pond water quality monitoring as part of APCC’s Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program funded through the Cape Cod Commission’s Freshwater Initiative. More information and how to apply can be found here. |
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Guidelines for Cape-friendly Landscapes - an APCC publication
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| The Guidelines gives homeowners steps they can take in the design and maintenance of their properties that will support pollinators and birds, manage stormwater, conserve water, and protect the Cape's water quality.
This 40-page booklet is beautifully illustrated by Marcy Ford with content that is easily digestible and supported by numerous resources for additional learning. |
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Thank you for this important book! Hopefully everyone of us with a yard will read it and put it to use! - Vicky Titcomb of Titcomb Bookshop |
We've enjoyed creating it and hope it will help you with ideas to help you steward your piece of Cape Cod and maybe foster an environmental ethic in the decisions we all make in our own managed landscapes. Get your copy here—and maybe one for a friend?
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We are grateful for the several retail shops that are partnering with us to make this publication more widely available: Brewster Book Store, Birdwatchers General Store, Crocker Nurseries, Wellfleet Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape Abilities Farm, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Cape Cod Lavender Farm, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Titcomb's Bookshop, and Sea Howl Bookshop.
If you are a retailer and would like to sell this publication at your store, contact Kristin at [email protected]. |
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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.
Spearheaded by the Nauset Garden Club in 2021, the pathway has grown to 44 organizations and 277 residential properties across Cape Cod that are dedicated to supporting pollinators.
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. Please get on the map to show your support of pollinators on Cape Cod!
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| APCC Caps are 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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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector
~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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| Photo, used by permission, is by Robert Gessing |
Bird's Foot Violet Viola pedata |
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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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APCC is rated four stars by Charity Navigator and 2023 Platinum by Candid (formerly Guidestar). |
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