Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Above photo by Sue Machie

A message ~

What I'm Thinking...

A Big Year

by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director

With the holiday season in full swing and APCC about to take a well-earned break, (yes, this is your last APCC weekly email of 2024) now seems a good time to reflect on a busy and remarkable year at APCC. There are a lot of ways to look at our body of work and judge what you see. My standard of success is to what extent the expansive we—APCC staff, board and membership—made an actual difference to the environment of Cape Cod. By my measure, and frankly by any fair and objective metric, 2024 was an impactful and productive year for APCC.

Any look back on 2024 has to start with APCC-led efforts that prevented the potential contamination of both the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve and Cape Cod Bay. Success on either front alone would have been validating, but achieving success on both issues effectively at the same time is something everyone associated with APCC should take pride in. APCC led sophisticated, multi-faceted and relentless campaigns at the local, state and federal levels to successfully protect these two invaluable resources against the determined and well-funded efforts of project proponents dismissive of the concerns of local residents. Against formidable odds, we collectively made the arguments and successfully prosecuted our case to make a positive difference for Cape Cod.

APCC’s success on the national stage was not just limited to legislative victories in the halls of Congress. APCC was the recipient of the two largest federal grants in our history from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in support of six freshwater and marsh restoration projects across the Cape. These awards, from two separate NOAA solicitations, were the fifth and sixth largest awards, respectively, made nationally by NOAA. These grants, in addition to showing that APCC has a place among the most impactful environmental organizations in the country, represent a generational investment in resource restoration that will improve habitat and water quality. The result and impact of the projects developed and pursued by our outstanding Ecological Restoration Program staff will be felt for generations.

APCC continued to be the go-to resource for freshwater monitoring and reporting. We continue to provide valuable guidance to residents on the state of their waters through our water quality and cyanobacteria monitoring programs. Our water quality reporting and cyano maps are among the most heavily used products because we, as you, know that water quality is of great importance to most Cape residents. We are at the center of a growing movement and consensus that is driving local efforts to improve water quality. Municipal investment in water quality and wastewater treatment has never been higher and APCC played a meaningful role in creating the conditions that spawned these projects.

Our work on educating the public on how to live more harmoniously with nature through use of native plants and moving away from chemical use on yards and landscapes is central to who and what we are. While there is always work to be done, we are seeing increased interest in educational programming. We invested accordingly in 2024 by increasing the staff efforts devoted to working with our membership on better environmental stewardship.

Above: The Koppel Center to Preserve Cape Cod, almost completed

The year also marked the almost complete transformation of our old barn into what soon will be christened the Koppel Center to Preserve Cape Cod. This new facility will house our water-related programs as well as providing expanded space for educational programming that will allow us to expand our footprint with membership and the public.

Much more happened at APCC in 2024 than space allows me to fully recount, but you get the idea. I firmly believe that many of you support our work because you see APCC as a results-driven organization that works hard day in and day out to make a difference. That is what we strive to be, and I think the record shows that we are pretty good at it. I hope you feel the same and, if you do, please support our work as part of your year-end giving. Donations made at the end of 2024 finance the work we plan to do in 2025.

You can expect to hear more of what we have planned for 2025 when the newsletter starts up again in early January. Until then, thank you for taking this ride with us. Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy and productive 2025.

Don't Be Distracted

The news has been full of stories about the Woods Hole Institute study of the circulation of Cape Cod Bay and how a discharge of wastewater from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station by Holtec would remain in the bay. These stories, because of the public’s rightful concern about the harm caused by the proposed discharge, have implied that the study supports the basis upon which the state denied Holtec the permission to discharge to the bay.

While both interesting and revelatory that the assertions by Holtec about dissipation in the bay were characteristically wrong and self-serving, the study is not relevant to the upholding of the state’s denial of the Holtec permit. The reason for this is simple: The state denied Hotlec’s application to discharge wastewater to the bay not because the water happened to be radioactive, but because the release of industrial wastewater is simply illegal under the state Ocean Sanctuaries Act. The state denial did not rely on the chemical characteristics of the effluent because the law prohibits any new industrial wastewater discharges regardless of its chemical composition.

Holtec would like nothing more than to have this debate focus on the radioactivity, because that opens the door to their argument that the prohibition of the discharge was based on its radioactivity and that such decisions are solely within the purview of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and that the state is preempted from denying the discharge. That’s a fake argument here and APCC, as an intervenor in the Holtec appeal, is not going to allow Holtec to shift the argument on the basis of the denial. While the study is interesting and reveals, yet again, that the NRC’s approach is not protective of Cape Cod, it really should have no impact on the upholding of DEP’s correct denial of the Holtec permit application.

See story from WCAI - Radioactive water discharged from Pilgrim would move near Cape Cod coastline: Study

APCC on the Radio

WOMR's Cape Climate podcast - Andrew Gottlieb on APCC's Post-Election Pivot

APCC in the News

WCAI recently reported on the stormwater remediation projects under construction at Scargo Lake Beach parking lot and Scargo Landing in Dennis. These projects are being completed in partnership with the town of Dennis and APCC, with designs from Horsley Witten Group and construction work from J.W. Dubis & Sons. This project is funded by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Coastal Habitat and Water Quality grant, along with support from the town of Dennis, MassBays, and private foundation funding. Find the link to the story here.

The Ecosystem Restoration Program: A Year in Review

The APCC’s Ecosystem Restoration Program had another impactful year in 2024, making significant strides in restoring and protecting Cape Cod's ecosystems.

Generous donations from individual supporters, private foundations, and government agencies continued to fuel our efforts. These funds were used to support field work, research, and community outreach initiatives, and were leveraged to secure additional funding. Most notable was a $15 million NOAA grant to fund a multi-year initiative to restore 220 acres of wetland habitat, 181 acres of pond habitat, and 2.2 miles of river and shoreline habitat. This project will restore ecological function, improve water quality, and enhance climate resilience. APCC will collaborate with local partners and communities to implement these efforts to restore Oyster Pond in west Falmouth, the upper Quashnet River and Red Brook in Mashpee and Falmouth, Weir Creek in Dennis, and cranberry bogs at Hinckleys pond in Harwich.

To strengthen our capacity to deliver on these ambitious goals, we expanded our team this past year with the hiring of a salt marsh specialist and a restoration ecologist. Additionally, April Wobst was appointed as restoration program manager and MassBays regional coordinator, while Jordan Mora became the lead ecologist and science advisor. These strategic appointments enhance our ability to address environmental challenges and implement effective restoration projects.

The year 2024 was one of our busiest field seasons for the program. Our team, composed of both staff and interns, conducted extensive monitoring of salt marshes across Cape Cod. Key sites included Sesuit Creek, Chase Garden Creek, Great Barnstable Marsh, Weir Creek, and Oyster Pond. The data collected from these sites will inform and guide future restoration efforts. This includes monitoring vegetation health, sediment accretion, water quality, and elevation changes. By understanding the current conditions and potential impacts of restoration interventions, the program aims to improve marsh resilience to sea level rise, enhance habitat quality, and mitigate coastal erosion. Long-term monitoring of these project sites is essential to the success of these restoration programs.

On the stormwater front, we are making significant strides in improving water quality across Cape Cod. In coordination with towns around Cape Cod, we have been working on plans for addressing stormwater pollution at nine priority boat ramp sites. Two of these projects have completed concept designs and seven projects have advanced through the permitting toward final design, including two sites on Scargo Lake where construction got underway this fall. In Yarmouth, two sites have advanced to final design and will be going to construction in 2025. Collectively, these projects aim to improve water quality and reduce pollution in local waterways by installing green infrastructure systems to treat stormwater runoff.

As we look ahead, we will continue to build on our successes and address emerging challenges. Key priorities include restoration of habitat, including salt marshes, rivers, streams, freshwater wetlands, and retired cranberry bogs, furthering stormwater management initiatives, monitoring and evaluating restoration efforts, and engaging with Cape Cod communities. By actively involving stakeholders in the planning and implementation of these projects, we aim to create a shared vision for the future of Cape Cod's ecosystems.

Video Share! This 30 minute video by the wetland consultant to Putnam Farm, Tom Biebighauser, documents the steps taken to reconstruct the wetlands on this town of Orleans conservation property that is an important community property with market agricultural plots and trails.

This year APCC engaged over 300 volunteers who helped support APCC's freshwater initiative and ecosystems restoration programs, and several of our outreach and education efforts.

Volunteers contributed over 500 hours in activities that spanned from freshwater pond testing, distributing educational materials and providing administrative support, to producing our annual Native Plant Sale, and staffing event outreach tables throughout the year.

To all APCC volunteers, we hope you know how much we appreciate your work and your commitment toward helping us preserve Cape Cod. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Not an APCC volunteer? You can learn more and sign up to be an APCC volunteer here.

Part IV, Basics of Bud IDs: Lenticels and Leaf Scars,

Abscission and Marcescence

by Erin Camire, APCC Eco-audit Program Manager

Last time around we covered bud placement along the stem, be it terminal or lateral, but there is another important clue along the stem that we need to look out for. This is, of course, leaf scars and it will be the topic of this week’s article. Let’s dive right in.

The diagram above showcases the winter twigs of the catalpa tree outside APCC’s office, as well as the identification features we’ll discuss today. I encourage you to refer back to it as you read, so you can understand the overall placement of each along the stem, and how they relate to each other.

Let’s actually begin with lenticels, which appear as light tan bumps on the catalpa above. These lenticels, typically seen as small, raised bumps or ridges that differ slightly in color from the twig, act as pores that allow the exchange of water vapor, and gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. The more you start to look for lenticels, the more you’re going to find, as they are a common feature of woody twigs, and even some plant roots, which you can see for yourself on carrots and potatoes. Because of this abundance, I’m personally not a fan of calling out lenticels as a key identification feature for individual species, but this is another example of terminology that can be helpful for fine tuning your ID skills, and if this is a feature that catches your attention, I encourage you to look out for it.

Next let’s dive into leaf scars, a fascinating piece of plant anatomy. Shown above as a light tan crater on the catalpa twig, this area is where the leaf was once attached to the twig. You’ll notice the lateral bud right above this leaf scar that will produce a new leaf in the spring. As the season progresses, this year’s leaf scar will be covered up by new growth, until eventually when fall rolls around and this season’s leaf is shed, creating a new leaf scar, starting the cycle over again.

Above: American beech. Photo by Sue Machie

Now, if you’ve ever spent some time examining fallen leaves in the fall or winter, you may notice that all of them feature a long stem called a petiole that ends in a slightly flared base. This interesting characteristic is caused by the process of abscission, which also causes our beloved fall foliage. Leaves represent a tremendous amount of energy to plants, and so very few species are willing to simply discard their leaves without getting some form of return on their investment.

When the length of daylight and temperatures begin to decrease, plants begin to prepare for winter by storing as much energy as possible in their root systems. This process causes the chlorophyll in leaves to start to break down, and are then flushed out of the leaves, deeper into the plants circulatory system. The remains of this process can be seen in the bundle scars, which are the old veins that used to connect last season’s leaf with the rest of the plant. These bundle scars are typically seen as dark spots within the leaf scar, as seen on the catalpa twig above. When the chlorophyll is removed from leaves at the end of the season, other chemicals (such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and anthocyanins) that cannot be removed from the leaves begin to react with sunlight, producing the charismatic shades of yellow, orange, and red that we all love.

When plants are able to sense that they have gotten most of the retractable nutrients out of their leaves, cells around the abscission zone, which is the area where the petiole and the stem meet, begin to harden and separate, eventually severing the connection between leaf and twig, and the leaf falls cleanly to the ground. But if you’ve been on the Cape long enough, you know this isn’t entirely the case, as most of the oaks and beech that populate our woodlands will keep large quantities of their leaves on through the entire winter. This concept is known as marcescence.

In terms of plant physiology, marcescence is a very easy to explain: The abscission zone that actives in fall for many plants, simply actives in spring instead. But as to how this change benefits the plants that choose to hold 'em instead of fold 'em—this is still beyond our current understanding. There are a number of theories, such as causing a reduction of browse (1), trapping snow to increase water in the spring (2), or even utilizing photodegradation to break down leaves faster once they eventually fall (3). However, there is no definitive answer.

As far as how leaf scars are important for winter identification, it is definitely a case by case basis. Many times the buds are unique enough to a species that leaf scars are often overlooked, but where this feature shines is differentiating between extremely similar buds of two or more species in the same family. As an example, this is one of the primary ways to tell the difference between black walnut (Juglans nigra) and butternut, also known as white walnut (Juglans cinerea), as the bundle scars on both roughly resemble a monkey’s face. (For anyone wondering, black walnut has a happy monkey face, and butternut has an angry monkey face.) On the Cape this isn’t an identification struggle you’ll frequently encounter, as butternut is scarcely seen around here, but it’s still a fun way to definitively key out black walnut in the winter.

Phew! That was a long one, so thanks for sticking with it. As I wrap this article up, I am excited to announce that this marks the end of the terminology articles necessary for bud identification. I hope you've found this series on tree buds interesting and helpful.

Spotlight on Rodenticides, They're Poison!

SGARs (Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides) are having an unacceptable impact on our wildlife, particularly birds of prey and other predators.

SGAR use is common. According to the Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources Pesticide Program, 96 percent of rodenticides applied by pest control companies in 2022—that is, approximately 559,000 pounds—were SGARs. https://www.mass.gov/info-details/annual-pesticide-use-information
Vets at the New England Wildlife Center report treating hundreds of raptors, foxes, and coyotes for critical SGAR poisoning each year.
A November 2020 study found 100% of Red-tailed Hawks tested at a MA wildlife clinic had SGARs in their organs.
National study of 303 dead Bald Eagles found that 82 percent of the sampled birds had been exposed to rodenticides. Anticoagulant rodenticide exposure and toxicosis in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the United States | PLOS ONE
An October 2023 study found at least one anticoagulant present in 98 percent of deceased fishers tested in Massachusetts.
And it’s not even just predators, but household pets too. MSPCA Angell Veterinary Hospital reports treating dozens of dogs, cats, and other household pets for SGAR poisoning each year.
Although increased regulation has significantly reduced the number of humans poisoned by SGARs, nearly 200 people were exposed to SGARs between 2021 and 2023, almost half of whom were children under the age of six. Citation: Ex. 68, Mass. Dep’t of Pub. Health, Bureau of Cmty. Health & Prevention, Toxic Exposure Surveillance System Data 2021-2023.

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, there should be a state ban on their use.

If you want to help take action, sign up with MA Audubon here.

As we all enjoy the holidays, our newsletter is taking a breather and will return in your inbox on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

Happy holidays from all of us at APCC!

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.

Inkberry

Ilex glabra

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.