Association to Preserve Cape Cod |
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| Good News by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director |
I am not widely considered Mr. Sunshine, but I am happy to report some good news. Readers of this space may recall a discussion about the projected shortfall in funds from the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund that reduces town borrowing costs by 25 percent. An unprecedented increase in the numbers of wastewater management projects proposed by Cape towns, a very welcome development, put pressure of the Fund’s ability to continue to prove the level of support that towns relied upon to make clean water projects more affordable.
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Several months of hard work, in which APCC was a key contributor in the development and evaluation of a variety of options, produced a great outcome. Just this past Friday, the board of the Fund adopted a new method to sustain the Fund’s ability to provide the expected subsidy to town clean water projects indefinitely. By switching to allocating Fund resources on a debt service basis instead of an up-front reserve model (anyone who wants the detail can contact me, but I’ll spare most of you the popsicle headache explanation), the Fund became sustainable without requiring revenue enhancement. Given the fiscal headwinds facing the Commonwealth this year, securing additional resources would have been challenging. Solving our own problem by optimizing the resources that have been made available to us was by far the best option.
Right after the vote to change the allocation methodology was a vote to commit an additional $65 million from the Fund to support 14 clean water projects in nine towns from one end of the Cape to the other. The Fund has now provided roughly $204 million in funds to Cape towns to lower the cost of clean water projects, directly relieving pressure on local property taxes. It is now up to the voters in Dennis, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Provincetown, Sandwich, Wellfleet and Yarmouth and the town council of Barnstable to vote to move these projects forward this spring to maintain access to these generous cost savings.
It is often said, by me anyway, that nothing good happens by accident. The creation of financing options for wastewater management that are unique to Cape Cod are the result of hard work and vision by local officials, state officials at DEP and the Clean Water Trust, our legislative delegation (with special thanks to Senator Cyr and Representative Peake), Cape Cod Commission leadership, numerous hard working private citizens, and humbly and proudly, APCC. Cleaning the waters of Cape Cod is integral to who we are and why we exist.
In the world of advocacy, especially on behalf of the environment, progress is often a series of small steps. It is rare to get a big and unmistakable win. This is one such victory and, yes, we are taking a breather to enjoy it before moving on the rest of the agenda. Thanks to all our members and supporters for enabling APPC to have the means to make the difference that we do.
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Isolated wetland and certified vernal pool in Chatham. |
It's that time of year to certify vernal pools! Certification of vernal pools gives them special protection under the MA Wetlands Protection Act and its regulations.
Vernal pools are unique wetlands without fish that make it the perfect safe habitat for spotted salamanders, wood frogs, and fairy shrimp to complete their life cycle. Many of these species that depend on vernal pools for reproduction spend their adult lives in the surrounding upland, several hundreds of feet from the pool. Learn more about these special habitats here.
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From NationalNativePlantMonth.org - April 2021 was the first National Native Plant Month. This is the fourth year for a Senate Resolution and the first year for a House Resolution. History. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) were the founding, bipartisan, co-sponsors of a Senate Resolution to designate April 2021 as National Native Plant Month (S Res 109). In 2022, they continued their commitment to native plants by reintroducing the Senate Resolution making April 2022 National Native Plant Month (S Res 570).
In the fall of 2022, The Garden Club of America launched an initiative to request proclamations from all 50 Governors to make April 2023 Native Plant Month in every state and Massachusetts Governor Healy signed such a proclamation. |
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Because it is a resolution, it must be passed each year. Along with the Native Plant Trust, APCC supports the Senate and House Resolutions to Designate April 2024 as National Native Plant Month. |
Spring Fever Pitch
Spring triggers the life cycles of wildlife, but it also means the ads from big and small companies hit our emails, pop up on Google searches, flood our mailboxes and encourage us to hire them to apply fertilizers and pesticides. Their message is one of urgency—to get on their busy schedules now because "the caterpillars will soon be out!" It’s a bit of fear mongering and playing on the average person’s lack of understanding of the value of caterpillars (or any other insect life) in our yards. The spraying of trees because there may be winter moth or spongy moth caterpillars (that you can’t see) is a poor practice.
Spraying insecticides or injecting trees with systemic pesticides kills any caterpillar, not just the target species (if indeed they are present). Importantly, caterpillars, like other insects, are crucial to life around us. For starters, birds depend on caterpillars to feed their young. About 96 percent of our terrestrial birds feed their babies caterpillars. This is how nature works—perfect timing: Birds have their young when insect food is plentiful. Caterpillars are soft and squishy. They are rich in protein and carotenoids. Carotenoids are antioxidants and stimulate the immune system, necessary for the growth and health of all vertebrates. Caterpillars are nature’s perfect superfood for baby birds (and their parents) as they contain twice as many carotenoids as other insects.
And the so-called "safe" products—safe for whom? Certainly not the insects that happen to come in contact with the chemical; whether it's organically derived or not, it is meant to kill. Insects, spiders, and bugs that have evolved in our eco-region have important roles to play in the health of our yards and ecosystems—we can't afford to wipe them out. If you care about the environment, nature, the birds—be informed, and don’t succumb to the sales pitch.
NOTE: If you have a non-native insect problem, before you hire just anybody, know that they must be licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). As with hiring any contractor, do a little due diligence and see if they've had any enforcement action against them—the state provides this information online here. Pesticide applicators are obligated to tell you what they are using on your property—so ask them! If you feel there's been a violation of pesticide regulations, complaints can be filed online with the state.
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Still Accepting Volunteers for 2024 Herring Monitoring Deadline to sign up has been extended to March 29th.
Volunteers count several times a week between April 1 and June 15. Counts are done for 10 minutes. Volunteers must be able to safely traverse rough terrain, be able to visually see fish in the stream, and provide their own transportation to and from the counting site. The counts are reported to APCC via our website data entry system.
If you are interested in counting herring,
you can sign up at APCC’s volunteer site here.
Deadline to sign up is now March 29th. |
Currently Scheduled Trainings
Note: Trainings are for the volunteers who have signed up for that run. Dennis
Herring Runs: Bound Brook and Scargo Lake When: Wednesday, March 27, 1:00 pm to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Scargo Lake, parking lot located near 44 Dr. Lord’s Road, South Dennis, MA 02638. The second part of the training the group will drive to Bound Brook located at 730 Airline Road, South Dennis, MA 02660 – volunteers can also put “Sears Cemetery” into the GPS and will be brought to the parking lot.
Mashpee Runs: Mashpee River, Quashnet River at Johns Pond, and Santuit Pond dam
When: Thursday, March 28th, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Where: Mashpee Town Hall
Wellfleet Run: Herring River When: Thursday, March 28th, 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Where: Wellfleet Public Library Details on these trainings and others can be found on our website at the
Herring Monitor Hub. |
Upcoming Meetings, Talks & Events |
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Resilient Roots hosts APCC's education director, Kristin Andres |
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Now accepting applications for these positions: |
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| Eco-landscape Audit Program Manager - April through November
APCC is seeking a qualified individual who is passionate about native plants and ecological landscapes to be the team leader of APCC’s Eco-landscape Audit Program. It will be the second year for the program designed to offer ecological landscape consultations for homeowners. The program team will consist of one or two summer interns and the manager will be the team leader. Read more...
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| State of the Waters Intern - full-time, seasonal position We are seeking a college- or graduate-level intern to assist with our “State of the Waters: Cape Cod” project. Tasks include: - Collection and organization of water quality data for coastal embayments, ponds, and public water supplies.
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Data analysis, scoring and grading of water quality data using established Excel formulas.
- Conducting statistical analyses to summarize results using Excel.
- Collection and analysis of drinking water Consumer Confidence Reports.
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Preparation of data summaries, coordination with APCC’s GIS contractor, and participation in team meetings.
- Assist with other projects as needed.
Minimum Education Requirements: A bachelor’s or master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., water resources, hydrology, limnology, natural resource management, etc.) and experience and skills as described here. |
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The 2023 State of the Waters: Cape Cod report content can be viewed on this dedicated website: CapeCodWaters.org |
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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, Sea Howl Bookshop, Soares Flower Garden Nursery, and Eight Cousins 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.
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!
You can purchase now your 9-inch aluminum Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod sign at Hyannis Country Garden, and Cape Abilities Farm.
If you are a retailer, and you would like to sell the signs, you can order online here, or email [email protected]. |
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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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| Rain Barrels for Cape Cod
Order online from Upcycle Products $122 each
includes FedEx shipping to your door APCC receives a portion of the proceeds. For more information, click here. |
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector ~ to help you choose the perfect native plants for your garden. |
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| Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa |
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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 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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