Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Oh, that glorious sea of huckleberry! So Cape Cod. Photo by Sue Machie

What I'm Thinking...

Court Update

by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC's Executive Director

APCC returned to court on September 20th to continue to press our claim that the Massachusetts National Guard illegally denied our request for public documents related to the multipurpose machine gun range. In the hearing, APCC brought an unusual emergency motion for extraordinary relief given that time is short as decisions on contracting for the construction of the range are being made right now. Our motion was denied without prejudice. The court’s decision is not a ruling on the merits of our claims—that will come later.

The judge’s decision makes clear that he expects the Guard to give us all of the documents we are seeking promptly after October 1st if the Guard enters into a construction contract before that date so as not to lose its remaining federal funding for the project. The judge’s decision says that “[s]hould the defendant fail to produce the documents in a timely fashion, or assert exemptions which it has already seemingly waived, the plaintiff is free again to seek relief from the Court.”

Despite this initial setback, APCC will continue to press for the records about how this project is framed and programmed, as well as the cost estimates as they relate to the 2024 rebid. The differences between the current rebid and past bids raise many questions that deserve answers.

APCC believes, now more than ever, that the Guard’s claimed exemptions to the public records law’s production requirements don’t apply to our request. We see them as regrettable delay tactics, pure and simple. APCC remains confident in our position that the Guard has violated its obligations under the public records law and we look forward to an expedited trial on the merits.

Per the court’s order, we will be back in court before October 15th to update the court on the status and schedule further events in this case.

SPECIAL ALERT!

Email Governor Healey TODAY.

Even if you have already contacted the governor, do it again!

And if you have not, please do it now!!

Decisions being made in the next few days, perhaps even the next few hours, will go a long way toward determining the fate of the multipurpose machine gun range (MPMGR) that threatens the future of the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve.

The governor and her staff need to hear from you, right now, to ensure that they understand that opposition to this project at this location is widespread and deep.

Please take a minute to click on the link below and send a message to Governor Healey that you, as an individual with a stake in Cape Cod, oppose the execution of a contract for construction of the MPMGR on top of the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve.

Dear Governor Healey and Lt Governor Driscoll:

I care about Cape Cod. I care about its water supply. I am engaged and informed. I vote and I oppose the signing of a contract to construct a machine gun range at Joint Base Cape Cod.

Please use this link to a form to email Governor Healey:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office#email-the-governor-&-lt.-governor-using-this-form-

Holtec Update

What part of "no" don’t you get?

Holtec representatives revealed under questioning at the NDCAP meeting this week that in their permit renewal applications to be filed with the state and federal governments in December of this year, they plan to include authorization to discharge Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station wastewater into Cape Cod Bay.

If this sounds familiar, it is. Holtec applied for this very same permit authorization last year, had that permit application rightfully denied by the Commonwealth, and just this month appealed that denial. Undaunted, they are refiling the same tired and illegal petition, perhaps with the mistaken impression that no one would be paying attention. We are paying attention.

APCC Ecosystem Restoration Program

Above: Jordan Mora (APCC) presenting on the Childs River monitoring results.

Staff from APCC’s Ecosystem Restoration Program recently participated in a workshop convened by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Southern New England Program. April Wobst, APCC restoration program and MassBays regional coordinator, served on the steering committee supporting the development, planning and facilitation of this regional meeting. The workshop gathered a diverse group with an interest in restoring retired cranberry bogs—all looking to share experiences and lessons learned about their individual projects.

APCC’s lead ecologist and science advisor, Jordan Mora, gave a talk on the ongoing monitoring work following the restoration of the upper Childs River in Mashpee and Falmouth. In Jordan’s cover slide she noted the more than 25 partners who had contributed to the success of this one project. From landowners to the funders, and to the project managers, the towns, the engineering firms, the construction companies, the scientists that monitor the site … the list goes on. All are integral to the success of any restoration project. But as Nick Nelson from Inter-Fluve highlighted in his talk—collaboration among partners is hard!

The scale and complexity of bog restoration projects necessitates resources and expertise beyond the capacity of any one group. As the size of the partner network grows, so do the challenges, such as unclear identification of roles and conflicting goals. However, as the workshop highlighted, effective network of partners united in common restoration goals do exist, and they’re successfully restoring retired cranberry bogs across Cape Cod and beyond.

APCC’s core strengths are the strong partnerships it has with the towns, community groups, regional partners, funders, and consultants. It has built a large, and growing, network with experience in cranberry bog restoration. As APCC embarks on several new bog restoration projects under our new NOAA award, we are aiming to leverage our partner network and apply the lessons we learned from the workshop. Building on the momentum of this workshop, APCC plans to host more regular meetings with regional partners to improve regional collaboration. Additionally, our NOAA award also includes funding for training and capacity building that will allow APCC to become a regional leader in cranberry bog restoration.

Above: Nick Nelson (InterFluve) presenting on why collaboration is hard.

Wonderous Wasps

Above: Great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) on milkweed

Above: Great black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus)

Above: Fraternal potter wasp (Eumenes fraternus) on hyssop-leaved boneset at APCC office

Above: Potter wasp. Photo by Heather Holm

Above: Potter wasp nests. Photo by Heather Holm

The majority of wasps that we see in our gardens are solitary nesters. This means once the male and female have mated, the female goes off to create a place where she will lay her egg. Depending on the species, it may be a shallow tunnel in the ground or a mud covering on a vertical hard surface like a basement wall or something as intricate as an urn-shaped pot affixed to a hard surface, like created by the tiny potter wasp. Within these chambers a single egg is laid with some manner of fresh food. While as an adult, wasps are vegetarian and can be seen nectaring on flowers, they are on the prowl for insects and spiders, which they sting to paralyze (not kill). The prey is then stashed in the chamber with the egg, so that when the larva emerges, it has fresh food for its development. Solitary wasps are not aggressive or territorial and do not protect their burrow or mud nest.

Above: Wasp with caterpillar. Photo by Sue Machie

There are fewer species of wasps that are social (only 1.4 percent of wasp species) and they include paper wasps, ground-nesting yellow jackets and aerial-nesting yellow jackets, the latter referred to as bald-faced hornets. They are all in the same insect order Hymenoptera, family Vespidae. These wasps collect bites of dead plant material or strip pieces of wood that they then chew and chew, mixing it with their saliva that contains a starch. This mouthful of masticated mix is then painstakingly added to the nest one wasp-sized mouthful at a time. With close examination, color variation reflects the different wood or plant used.

Sometimes you’ll find a small umbrella-like honeycomb assemblage of open six-sided cells—this is the nest of a paper wasp. The creators of the large gray soccer ball-sized nests (or larger) usually choose to locate them high up and away from human activity. These nests are the work of bald-faced hornets. These nests are covered by a papery shell which is layer upon layer to protect the important contents against the weather and temperature fluctuations. Inside is a matrix of numerous hexagonal cells. Each of the small cells is where the female wasp will lay an egg. The grub-like baby wasps are fed living insects such as caterpillars, beetle larvae or other such insect, but not until the adult chews them up a bit to tenderize. This is why these insects are valuable—they are a biological control of garden pests and are an integral part of the interconnectedness of nature’s checks and balances.

Above: Bald-faced hornet on goldenrod. Photo credit: Heather Holm

Above: Bald-faced hornet nest

Above: Closeup of hornet nest

In the early part of the summer, eggs that the queen lays will become workers that are infertile females whose job is to build more cells and enlarge the nest. Since the female worker hornets do not lay eggs, their modified ovipositors serve as stingers. There can be as many as 400 workers in one nest. The queen continues to lay eggs throughout the summer. Some of the larvae will develop into males, called drones. Late in the summer a few queens will be produced who will leave the nest to find and mate with a drone. These young queens will then seek out an overwintering site, such as a rotting log, where they will hibernate until the following spring when they emerge, and the cycle starts all over again.

If you come across one of these social wasp nests, steer clear as they are protective of the nest. But if it is in a place that can simply be avoided by humans or cordoned off from human interaction until winter, you can feel confident that after a good cold winter frost, any inhabitants will have been done in. They make a new nest annually and will not return to the old nest. As is nature’s way, the vacant nest maybe be reused by other critters—perhaps by a deer mouse seeking a winter hideaway. Come spring, songbirds will use the papery nest material for their own nests. And nature geeks (like me) enjoy collecting them—to hold in hand and admire up close the masterful creation of wasps and to ponder their wonderous ways.

This is an excerpt from an article published in the Cape Cod Chronicle, written by Kristin Andres, APCC director for education & outreach.

Video Share!

A wonderful seven minute video by Danae Wolfe - "Chasing Bugs"

APCC's Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program

Our cyanobacteria monitoring map remains live for 2024. Results are displayed on the interactive map. For a list of ponds being monitored through October, click here. For any information on Brewster ponds, email Marty.Burke@brewsterponds.org. You can sign up for cyanobacteria bloom alerts here—and receive a notice when a bloom is detected, except for any occurrences in Brewster.

A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector

~ to help you choose the perfect native plants for your garden.

Email membership@apcc.org and we'll send you a CapeCodNativePlants.org decal.

American Groundnut

Apios americana

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