Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Above photo by Sue Machie

Bogged Down: The Ugly Side of Cranberry Bog Restoration

Above: The before, during, and after stages of the Coonamessett River restoration, a former flow-through cranberry bog in Falmouth, MA.

Cape Cod's cranberry industry, a symbol of its agricultural heritage, has faced decline in recent decades. APCC and partners are working to restore retired cranberry bogs to more natural states. Through the restoration of wetlands, such as cranberry bogs, we can improve water quality, mitigate against climate change, create habitat for fish and wildlife, and establish new recreational and educational opportunities. By identifying and prioritizing bogs, securing funding, and collaborating with landowners and regulatory agencies, we're breathing new life into these vital ecosystems.

With the help of NOAA funding, the Harwich Conservation Trust and APCC's Ecosystem Restoration Program will restore two cranberry bogs near Hinckleys Pond this winter. Winter offers the optimal conditions for cranberry bog restoration—frozen ground, minimal wildlife activity, and reduced recreational use make it ideal for construction and restoration work.

As the restoration project begins, it's important to remember that the initial stages may appear chaotic and unappealing. Heavy machinery and disruptive construction are necessary to re-establish the wetland's natural functions.

The cranberry bog restoration process:

Remove water control structures: Removing stagnant ponds and flow constrictions from the wetland reduces flooding, lowers water temperatures, and improves fish passage.
Remove sand and fill ditches: Removing the decades of applied sand and filling irrigation ditches helps restore natural bog hydrology to wet conditions.
Reconstruct the stream channel: Reconnecting the stream channel with the underlying groundwater is important to establish flow, improve fish passage, and create habitat for aquatic organisms.
Roughen the bog surface: Tilling the landscape brings long dormant native seeds to the surface and replicates the naturally occurring hummocks and hollows of wetlands, providing diverse habitat for plants and wildlife.
Add wood to the stream channel: Large wood logs and root balls are placed in the stream to create habitat for aquatic organisms.
Replant native vegetation: Native trees and shrubs jumpstart regrowth, especially in disturbed areas and along waterways, where their cooling shade benefits aquatic life.

Over time, the restored bog will gradually recover, supporting a diverse array of plant and animal life, including improved fish passage. Ongoing monitoring is essential to track progress and make necessary adjustments. By monitoring water quality, vegetation growth, and wildlife and fish populations, scientists and conservationists can fine-tune the restoration efforts.

Community involvement is vital to the long-term success of these projects. Volunteers, students, and residents play a key role in planting native vegetation, removing invasive species, and monitoring the health of the restored bog. Bog restoration is a long-term investment, though the rewards are immeasurable. By restoring these wetlands, we're not only preserving our natural heritage but also creating a healthier environment for future generations.

The Most Beautiful Experiment - A short film (20 min) documenting the reminiscences of two scientists as they overflow with their love of discovery; a reminder of the value of science. (And there's a local connection to boot!)

Part II Basics of Bud IDs: Bud Scales

by Erin Camire, APCC Eco-audit Program Manager

Welcome back to the next article on bud identification. Last time around we covered branching patterns and the classic MADCAP HORSE acronym. This time we’re going to go over what may be the most prominent and useful feature for identification: bud scales.

Let’s dive in by first by asking, what are bud scales? These tiny structures may come in many shapes and sizes, but they are simply modified leaf structures that are hardened around the bud itself. So, interestingly, when you pick up a twig to examine a bud, you’re most likely looking at bud scales, not the bud itself. Although bud scales come in a large variety, they have been broken down into four distinct categories: imbricate, valvate, single-scaled and naked. Here’s how to tell them all apart:

Imbricate Scales: These buds are covered by many overlapping scales, creating almost a shingle effect. The size and number of scales varies wildly between species, but the imbricate category covers all buds with more than two scales. Good examples of imbricate scales on the Cape are our variety of oaks. Red oak (Quercus rubra), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), black oak (Quercus velutina), white oak (Quercus alba), and scrub oak (Quercus illicifolia) all have imbricate scales.

Valvate Scales: These buds have two scales, which form a smooth covering over the bud, and produce a noticeable seam where the two scales overlap. The shape of the buds in this group varies wildly, some are typical round or egg shaped, others come to a long, narrow taper, but all feature a seam as the distinctive feature. A great example of a valvate scale on the Cape is none other than nannyberry (Viburnum lentago).

Single-Scaled: This group, also called cap scales, covers the bud with one scale. There are no seams or overlapping patterns like valvate and imbricate scales. This group is often difficult to distinguish from valvate scales, but what I’ve noticed is that often single-scaled buds feel a bit recessed from the twig they grow on. Here’s what I mean: Typically, when a woody stem transitions into a bud, the bud is equal or slightly greater in diameter than the wood. But for the single-scaled group, the buds seem to be slightly smaller in diameter than the twig, leaving this odd ledge of wood that looks like a platform that the bud grows on. On the Cape, the plant to look out for as an example would be the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), most often found in ornamental landscapes. This recessed bud is not unanimous for all single-scaled buds, some are appressed to the sides of the stem and don’t feature this woody ledge, but it’s a feature seen often enough that it is worth mentioning.

Naked: These buds, as the name implies, feature no scales whatsoever. The buds are completely exposed, typically protected by a thick layer of microscopic hairs, which feels like a velvety texture to us. These buds are typically pretty easy to identify, as even though they come in a vast variety of forms, they noticeably lack scales and are very delicate. Keep an eye out for witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) as a great example of naked buds.

Unfortunately, unlike branching patterns, there’s no real connection between scale types and plant families or genera. The reason bud scales are important to learn is not to help you narrow down your identification, but to get better at describing buds to others, or parsing through a guide’s description of a certain bud. The more terminology you have in your toolbox, the better prepared you’ll be when we get to talking about individual plants.

Next time we’ll talk about the finer bud features, such as hair, waxy coatings, placement on the stem, and some other terms that I come across frequently. So, until next time, start putting together branching patterns and bud scales. Luckily for us, most oaks retain some of their leaves for much of the off-season, so start comparing buds to leaf shapes, and see if you can key out some oaks!

APCC's Cape Cod Lawn PSA - produced by Cape Media, watch for it on your local TV access channel in Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, and Chatham. (Click on the photo to watch.)

Thermal Stratification—there's more!

In last week’s newsletter, you learned all about the basics of thermal stratification and mixing, seasonal processes that many of Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds experience. This week, we focus on how pond stratification and mixing can impact life in the ponds.

Many of the organisms living in the Cape’s freshwater ponds, like fish, need oxygen to survive. In the colder seasons, the ponds are usually fully mixed if there is no ice cover, with temperature and dissolved oxygen being evenly distributed throughout the pond’s water column. Therefore, organisms can search for food or shelter in any part of the pond. However, as temperatures heat up in the summer and thermal stratification is strongly established, the cold, dense, deepest layer can become anoxic (without oxygen), and often stays this way until pond turnover occurs in the fall and the water column mixes again. With no oxygen available in the deep, cold water, many organisms, such as trout, are limited to the middle and surface layer of the pond. Depending on the species, the surface layer can get too warm, shrinking the “comfortable” living space to just the middle layer of the pond.

Many of the organisms living in freshwater ponds have adapted to these seasonal changes in their habitat, but as global temperatures are warming, it looks like stratification may be occurring earlier in the spring, surface water temperatures are rising in the summer months, and stratification may last longer into the fall and winter.

With the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program (part of the Cape Cod Commission’s Freshwater Initiative), we are collecting data that will provide insight to the stratification and mixing patterns throughout the season and over time in Cape Cod’s ponds. With this data, we hope to learn more about the impact warming temperatures are having on the Cape’s pond habitats.

Spotlight on Rodenticides, They're Poison!

Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) are a type of poison used for rodent control that work by stopping the blood clotting processes, causing lethal hemorrhage. SGARs have been extensively used for rodent control, allowing secondary exposure and poisonings in non-target wildlife species, such as birds of prey that mainly feed on rodents or small birds. Learn more about the effects of these poisons on Massachusetts wildlife (MSPCA). While SGARs are prohibited for residential consumer purchase in the Commonwealth, commercial use is allowed for licensed pesticide companies. Seek other alternatives!

In 2022, a total of 533,000 lbs. (>265 TONS) of Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) were used in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This total was obtained from the Annual Pesticide Use Information database located at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources' (MDAR) webpage and if you take a look, you'll see that to gather meaningful data on rodenticides, you must be equipped with a calculator, knowledge of the active ingredients, and a whole lot of patience and tenacity. (By the way, active ingredients include bromadiolone, brodifacoum, difethialone, and difenacoum.) MDAR has not yet made 2023 reporting information available online.

Importantly, in 2020, California was the first state to ban the use of SGARs. Legislation, signed by the governor, declared a moratorium (with a few exceptions) until state agencies determine that the use of SGARs will not harm non-target species. Why? According to a report from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, between 2014 and 2018 over 70 percent of wildlife tested in the state had SGARs in their systems, including animals from 25 species.

Tufts Wildlife Clinic reported in 2017 that 97 percent of raptors showed evidence of rodenticide poisoning, in the last five years it is 100 percent. Closer to home, Wild Care Cape Cod reports that "Over 80 percent of the birds of prey (raptors) that we receive into care, such as red-tailed hawks and great horned owls, show symptoms of probable secondary rodenticide exposure."

Do you have a contract with a pest control service to control rodents? Do you know what methods they are using? If it's bait boxes that contain rat poison, have them removed—all of them. There are other alternatives. Your contractor may be using them according to the regulations, but that's the problem. The regulations need to be changed. In fact, we believe as many do, that we need a state ban.

Above: A news story from last month. Wildlife rehabber, Jane Newhouse, knows all too well what rodenticides are doing to other predators, such as foxes.

Proposed Rodenticide Ban Ordinances in Mass Sets the Tone for Protecting Biodiversity

What Can You Do?

Spread the word. Ask your friends if they know that rat poison is harming other wildlife and encourage them to seek alternatives to poison.
Sign up for MA Audubon's Rescue Raptors campaign and regional organizers of Rescue Cape Cod Wildlife will be in touch.

Pesticide Issues/Complaints/Questions can be left on the MDAR Pesticide Division Enforcement phone line at 617-626-1782. This is a recorded line. Please leave a message and an Inspector will return the call. Or if preferred, the Complaint Form can be completed and submitted. Please use the following link: https://www.mass.gov/forms/pesticide-enforcement-complaint-form

A Cape-wide Conservation Event Calendar

The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts (“the Compact”) and its nonprofit members launched a new regional calendar of events. The Conservation Calendar includes programs across Cape Cod hosted by these groups. The goal of the calendar is to encourage visitors and residents to take part in nature and environmental events. You can always find the link to the calendar on APCC's website under News & Events.

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.

Bearberry

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

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

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, please contact us.

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

If you support our work,

consider giving a

gift of an APCC Membership

to your favorite environmentalist!

See the gift options here.

APCC Merch

Available for online purchase and shipping in the U.S. is free:

APCC caps

$25

+++++++++++++++++

Garden for Life T's

$30

Click here

for more information and to order.

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 the 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.