Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Photo by Sue Machie

What I'm Thinking...

Wait, what?

by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director

It is well documented that the Massachusetts National Guard has taken issue with the EPA’s ability to conduct a sole source aquifer review of the proposed multipurpose machine gun range (MPMGR). The Guard complained when EPA announced its intention to undertake the review, it complained about the substantive result of the review, it has challenged the EPA’s jurisdiction to conduct the review, and it has gone so far as to shift responsibility for building it to the Army in an attempt eliminate EPA’s jurisdiction. The Guard’s position on the EPA has been clear and consistent, at least in public that is.

An email, turned over to APCC in response to a public records request, tells a very different story. In the email from the Guard to EPA, the GUARD INVITES AND REQUESTS EPA TO UNDERTAKE A REVIEW OF THE PROJECT UNDER THE SOLE SOURCE PROVISIONS OF THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.

Yep, that’s right, the Guard asked EPA to do the review that they now claim is beyond EPA’s authority. One would be justified in wondering, what changed? Could it be that the Guard thought EPA was in the tank and would simply bless the inadequate review that the Guard produced and then changed their minds when EPA made it clear that they were going to do their job and undertake the real review they ultimately did? Could it be that the Guard knew that a serious review would shine an unfavorable light on the project, so they went from asking for EPA review to doing everything possible to kill such a review? These are interesting and plausible questions, the answers to which we may never know because no one is talking and most of our public record requests are either slow walked or ignored altogether.

The Guard’s email has it right in stating that there would be value in the EPA review. They have it backward in stating that the governing state law prioritizes training over protection of the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve, and therein lies the problem. The Guard either doesn’t understand or chooses to mischaracterize the choices the Commonwealth codified into law when it elected to allow the base to remain a tenant under conditions intended to avoid a repeat of the activities that contaminated water supplies and have cost $1.2 billion and counting in public funds to clean it all up.

Having been invited in to do the work, EPA should finish the job and finalize its well-framed assessment that the project is a threat to the continued purity of the region’s largest source of drinking water.

SAVE THE DATE

APCC's Annual Meeting

Sunday, August 25th

12:00 p.m.

APCC's Ecosystem Restoration Program

The APCC Ecosystem Restoration Program is excited to welcome Rory Edwards to the team! Rory will be assisting salt marsh and water quality monitoring efforts as a part-time restoration intern this summer.

Rory holds a bachelor of science from UMass Boston as well as a certificate in coastal zone management from the Cape Cod Community College. Prior to his academic accomplishments, he spent four years serving in the United States Army. Rory currently works for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries gathering and recording recreational fisheries data.

Photo: Rory installing a continuous dissolved oxygen logger at Weir Creek.

As part of a five-year project, APCC is conducting salt marsh monitoring at Chase Garden Creek, located on the north side of Cape Cod in Dennis and Yarmouth. This information will be used to inform future restoration actions to improve the marsh’s resilience to sea level rise.

Please use the registration link to sign up for the Chase Garden Creek Public Zoom Meeting hosted by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod and scheduled for Thursday, July 18 at 4:00 p.m.

This work is funded by the Lavori Sterling Foundation and private APCC foundation funds.

A little humor from the Stormwater Innovation Center, a regional nonprofit affiliated with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

APCC is Hiring!

Seeking seasonal interns for

Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program, August - November

APCC is seeking interns to help monitor cyanobacteria in Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds as part of APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program. Candidate must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma and one to three years of relevant field experience (e.g., limnology, biology, ecology, chemistry, and/or other science related to aquatic systems). Position starts mid-August. For detailed job description, click here.

From The Xerces Society

"If you’re worried about aphids, keep an eye out for some big help from tiny wasps, such as the one pictured above! This parasitoid wasp is laying her eggs inside aphids. As the wasp larvae grow, it kills the aphid before metamorphosing into an adult wasp that is ready to hunt more aphids.

Parasitoid wasps are just one of many excellent beneficial insects that help control other insects that we might be less pleased to find in our gardens."

We are taking appointments now through August (first come, first serve). Click here for more information.

2024 testimonials:

This is so fantastic!! You have provided so many great ideas and lots of detail, everything I need to be successful!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! - Kathy W.

Thank you for your ideas, suggestions, recommendations, and education. - Judith B.

Most excellent!! VERY well done, and SO much useful information. Definitely exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high! - Eli W.

APCC's Ecolandscape Audit Program is hands down, the best investment for the money that I have made in my yard EVER. What a comprehensive evaluation! It will leave you inspired to better your Cape Cod landscape in relation to water use, plant selection, and pollinator & animal habitat. Wonderful, wonderful! - Rick M.

Events Hosted by Others

Highfield’s Science & Environment Speaker Series is made possible in part through the generous support of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, The Falmouth Fund, The Brabson Family Foundation, Cape Cod 5, the Woods Hole Foundation, and Woodwell Climate Research Center.

This event is FREE but seats are limited, so please register for the event in advance.

Register online today or call 508-495-1878 ext. 2.

APCC's Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program

Our cyanobacteria monitoring map is live for 2024. Results are displayed on the interactive map. You can sign up for cyanobacteria bloom alerts here - and receive a notice when a bloom is detected.

Guidelines for Cape-friendly Landscapes - an APCC publication

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.

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?

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 kandres@apcc.org.

You can also view the book's content as a pdf on our website.

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, Crocker Nurseries, Brewster Book Store, Orleans Conservation Trust, and

Cape Abilities Farm.

If you are a retailer, and you would like to sell the signs, you can order online here, or email pollinators@apcc.org.

APCC Merch