Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Above: Portanimicut, Sampson Island, Orleans. Photo by Sue Machie

What I'm Thinking...

Poof

by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director

Imagine for a minute you award a contract to a general contractor promising to pay the GC to build your house. The GC submits a bill for work authorized by you and preformed to specification, but the bill is unpaid. The GC never hears from you, but reads on the internet that you are not planning to pay for at least 90 days. The GC is left to figure out how to pay the workers and subs that worked on the good faith assurance that the authorizing contract meant something.

The GC in this example is APCC. Despite having valid contracts for over $18 million in environmental restoration work awarded by the federal government, APCC can no longer expect payment for work legally authorized to be done for at least 90 days. APCC is not alone, as we and countless thousands of other nonprofits, for profit corporations, state, county and municipal governments, and who knows who else, have to figure out how to pay our bills and staff. While APCC will continue to honor its obligations to our workers and contractors, the reality is this unilateral act by the federal government has real implications.

The ecosystems that were slated to be restored with the NOAA funds now being withheld may just remain impaired and degraded. This is a direct impact on the people of Mashpee, Falmouth, Harwich and Dennis in which the six projects are located. Sometimes it is hard to translate these grand federal pronouncements down to what they actually mean to specific people in specific locations. Well, here is a clear example of specific towns that suffer specific harms in the form of having to live with degraded resources for longer when the prospect of improvement was contractually committed to and imminent.

I am not even making the case that the delay of these projects is the worst of the implications of the federal government’s decision to no longer honor valid contracts. As an example, I think the people in medical trials, now suspended or who lose their jobs because their employers lack the available cash to pay them because the feds won’t, have it worse. The broader implications of this action on the underpinnings of society are profound. How exactly do we proceed with anything if contractual commitments no longer must be honored or, perhaps even more chilling, are predicated on compliance with a forced ideology.

America, 2025.

APCC Ecosystem Restoration Program

Above: Aerial photo of Jenkins Bog (foreground) and Hinckleys Pond (background). Photo credit: Steve & Eileen Furlong (HCT volunteers).

Public Presentation February 1st at 1 p.m.: Eco-Restoration at Hinckleys Pond at the Headwaters of the Herring River

Join the Harwich Conservation Trust, APCC, and Nick Nelson of engineering firm Inter-Fluve on Saturday, February 1st at 1:00 p.m. at the Harwich Community Center for a talk on the "Eco-Restoration at Hinckleys Pond at the Headwaters of the Herring River."

In 2020, Fred and Barbara Jenkins wanted to sell their 31-acre retired bog property to Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) instead of converting the upland into a subdivision. Thanks to generous HCT donors, the Jenkins’ land bordering the Cape Cod Rail Trail was preserved. Since then, HCT, in partnership with the Brown family who owns a retired bog on the other side of the pond, completed the eco-restoration design and permitting process led by Inter-Fluve, which expertly led a similar process at HCT’s Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve on Bank Street. Recently, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod joined the team by securing a federal grant that will fund eco-restoration construction.

Why is eco-restoration important? How many wetland acres will be rewilded? What will the trails look like? What happens during the eco-restoration construction phase? Learn the answers and ask more questions during this presentation led by Nick Nelson, who grew up in Harwich and is a fluvial geomorphologist with Inter-Fluve.

This talk is part of the HCT Winter Talks series. All talks take place in the Harwich Community Center at #100 Oak Street. This February 1st Eco-Restoration talk is free. Other talks in the series are $5, payable at the door to the Harwich Conservation Trust.

BUD ID - Red Maple

by Erin Camire, APCC Ecolandscape Program Coordinator

In this week's bud identification walkthrough, we’re going to be breaking away from the oak genus (don’t worry, we’ll circle back around) to instead talk about another common tree across the Cape, red maple (Acer rubrum). Just like in previous articles, we’ll work through the main features of this twig and put together the identification process piece by piece. So, let’s get started by talking about branch arrangement.

We get lucky right off the bat with red maples, because one look at the branch arrangement of this species will tell you that we are looking at an opposite pattern. Remember that this will look like the buds and the twigs occurring parallel to each other along the length of the twig. So with this observation we can immediately narrow this twig down to the species in our favorite acronym, MADCAP HORSE. To jog your memory, this includes:

M – Maple Genus (Acer)

A – Ash Genus (Fraxinus)

D – Dogwoods and Viburnums (Covers Genera Cornus, Swida, Benthamidia, and Viburnum)

CAP – Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae)

HORSE – Horse chestnut or Buckeyes Genus (Aesculus)

We’ve narrowed things down to these few genera and species, so let’s keep moving forward to eliminate even more species. Taking a look at the buds, you’ll notice there are some overlapping scales, forming an imbricate pattern. This feature is a big harder to notice on red maples when compared to the oaks we’ve covered, as on red maples these scales are larger, and there are only a few scales per bud. But keep in mind that if you see more than two scales, the bud falls into the imbricate category. Thankfully, even though there are few scales to cue you into the imbricate pattern, red maples do offer a clear few of the scales, since they are free of bud coatings.

On red maples there is no pubescence visible to the naked eye (there is some visible with a hand lens on the edges of the scales), no waxy coatings, and no resinous coatings. This makes the buds look smooth and somewhat glossy. This makes it easy to see the characteristic red color of these buds, which we’ll cover in depth along with bud placement, leaf scars, and a general bud description next week.

APCC Seeks Seasonal Interns

Restoration Internship - June through September

Summer Cyanobacteria Internship - mid-May through August

Full Season Cyanobacteria Internship - mid-May through mid-November

Ice, Ice, Baby!

January 2025 on Cape Cod ~ a rare treat

Above: Icing on Town Cove, Orleans. Photo by Sue Machie

Above: Photo by Sue Machie.

Above: Pleasant Bay. Photo by Sue Machie.

Above: Photo by Sue Machie.

Above: Stage Harbor, Chatham. Photo by Sue Machie

A Frozen Pond ~ Village Pond, Truro

by Sophia Feuerhake, APCC Freshwater Science Coordinator

For the past two weeks, Village Pond in Truro, along with many other ponds on Cape Cod, has been frozen solid enough for skating—a rare sight on Cape Cod these days. The community has come together to enjoy all the exciting activities that come with the ice, with people playing hockey, teaching their kids to skate, and even grilling by the pond.

For some longtime Truro residents, the ice brings back fond memories of winters spent skating on the same pond, and now they’re excited to share that tradition with the next generation. As skaters glide across the ice, they’re also discovering small wonders—air bubbles trapped in the ice, pond plants frozen beneath the surface, and animal tracks that tell stories of the wildlife that passes through.

Beneath the ice, life continues, though at a slower pace. While the cold temperatures slow down many of the pond’s usual activities, fish and other creatures are still active in the deeper parts of the pond where the water stays a little warmer. Plants and algae continue to produce small amounts of oxygen, helping to support life below the ice. This longer-than-usual freeze is a rare reminder of the winters we once experienced more regularly here on Cape Cod—offering a special chance to connect with the season in a way that’s becoming increasingly rare.

Do you have photos of a pond iced-over? Send them to us at kandres@apcc.org with the name of the pond, date,

and your name (for photo credit).

Spotlight on Rodenticides

TAKE ACTION! A state bill, An Act Restricting the use of Rodenticides in the Environment, has been filed in the House by Rep. James Hawkins HD.1721 and Senate by Sen. Michael Moore SD.1447. These bills would phase out the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) in Massachusetts, and need support from as many legislators as possible to gain some momentum. Ask your legislator to cosponsor the bills.

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,

SIGN UP with MA Audubon.

Cape Cod has a regional effort: "Rescue Our Raptors."

Local partners include Cape Wildlife Center, Wild Care Cape Cod,

Sierra Club Cape Cod, and APCC.

Stay informed on Facebook: Rescue Cape Cod Raptors

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.

Photo Credit: Jefficus / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Blue Flag Iris

Iris versicolor

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

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.

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.