Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Above: Hardings Beach, Chatham. Photo by Sue Machie.

Ecosystem Restoration Program

Into the River: My First Electrofishing Survey

by Michaela Ocko, APCC Communications Intern

This past week, I participated in my first electrofishing survey, working alongside APCC’s Mike Palmer and MassWildlife staff Joe Facendola, Connor Fleming, and John Garofoli. We piled into the truck, the various fishing instruments and waders heaped in the truck bed behind us and headed to our first location.

Surrounded by unfamiliar people and gear, I had no idea what to expect, or even what an electrofishing survey really was. But immediately after stepping into the clear water, clad in brown waders, I knew I would enjoy the experience. I soon learned that these surveys are used to track various fish populations’ health in a certain stream or river. On this day we were particularly interested in eastern brook trout and American brook lamprey in the Mashpee River.

My previous interactions with fishing were limited, so when a net was handed to me to scoop up fish, I didn’t feel extremely confident in my abilities. But as I followed behind the group, observing the strategy, I began to get the hang of it, even catching a few fish myself. The fish pop to the surface and must be gathered before they float downstream. But not just trout and lamprey were affected by the shock, and I found myself catching (and getting bit by) eels and other creatures, like crayfish!

Electrofishing surveys require quite a bit of gear. The crew uses a backpack electrofisher, which sends a carefully controlled electrical current through the water to briefly stun nearby fish so they can be scooped up with a net and placed in a bucket for identification and measurement. The fish are not harmed by the process and recover quickly before being released back into the river. Then there are two buckets filled with water where the fish are held until they are measured and weighed. Finally, there is a scale, a measuring board, and an extremely long tape measure to track the distance surveyed.

I not only learned how to identify brook trout and brook lamprey, a faceless fish of sorts, but also learned the mechanics behind conducting a fisheries survey. I learned how important teamwork is to successfully conduct fieldwork and how fun sloshing through rivers and walking through poison ivy with fishing gear really can be.

I also captured many photos from the survey, which may convey the experience better than my words can. Tagging along on the electrofishing survey was a highlight of my summer, and I appreciate Mike, Joe, Connor, and John for their patience as the communications intern from APCC clumsily and cautiously followed them through the river with a net and a camera.

Request for Proposals Solicitation #: RFP-26-ERP-002

APCC is seeking bid proposals from qualified businesses with expertise in salt marsh ecology and restoration for a platform rehabilitation project at Chase Garden Creek Marsh (Yarmouth/Dennis, MA). The goal is to halt subsidence and enhance ecosystem resiliency against future sea level rise using techniques that will support effective tidal regimes for robust plant growth and greater carbon storage. Click here for more information.

Above: APCC staff and interns monitored Sesuit Creek marsh plots during and after the 2018 pilot planting, tracking early planting efforts, plant growth in 2019, and the dramatic expansion of marsh vegetation by 2023. Photos include April Wobst, APCC restoration program manager, along with field crews documenting the project’s progress over time. Photo credit: Gerald Beetham

Recovery of Sesuit Creek Salt Marsh:

If You Plant It… They Will Come

By April Wobst, APCC Restoration Program Manager

Last month, APCC completed the largest salt marsh planting to date on Cape Cod, and—to our knowledge—the largest in Massachusetts. With the team from SumCo Eco-Landscaping, over 90,000 Spartina alterniflora plants were installed across four large bare patches in the marsh. The goals of this Herculean effort are to restore salt marsh habitat and improve the function of the marsh, allowing it to keep up with sea level rise, provide resilience for the surrounding community against storms, and serve as home to fish, shellfish, and birds alike.

When I started at APCC ten years ago, Sesuit Creek was the first marsh I stepped into, and for many I have worked with over the years it remains one of the hardest marshes to work in. The challenge has been the large persistent bare patches that remain following tidal restoration in 2008. After saltwater and tidal flow was restored, large areas of freshwater plants and the invasive Phragmites australis died off and what was left was bare soil.

At best, the marsh's the bare areas are challenging to traverse with remnant Phragmites stems trying to trip you up or turn an ankle. At worst, the marsh can be a muddy, soupy mess where you’re likely to lose a boot trying to release your foot from ankle or knee-deep muck. This is the marsh that defines the way my kids see my work, as the days mommy is out working in the mud. But for me in many ways returning to Sesuit is like going home. It’s surely no day at the beach, but I know the ins and outs of this marsh better than any other; it’s familiar, predictable, and important to me in ways other sites I’ve monitored or assisted in can’t quite match.

In 2018, based on the monitoring from the two years prior, we completed a pilot planting study installing 324 Spartina alterniflora plugs in small one-meter square plots across the bare patches. The goals of that project were lofty. By planting in areas located 10 meters apart, our hope was for the bare area between plots to fill in with new vegetation over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020. While this was not achieved, the plants that survived the first winter were thriving, growing tall and dense. Fast forward three years to 2023, when we returned to do an assessment of progress—for me, the results were shocking!

Above: Images of one of the planted plots in 2018 (top left), 2019 (top right), 2020 (bottom left) and 2023 (bottom right).

The areas I’d planted with nine small plugs six years prior were in many instances unrecognizable and undetectable without some serious poking around in the grass. Many of our plots had joined with the surrounding marsh, which also was showing signs of new growth and expansion. It took more years than we expected, but the planting was working.

But we didn’t want to wait another six years to see further recovery. Thus, we embarked on gathering the resources and input from partners at the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, the Cape Cod Conservation District, and the town of Dennis to develop a large-scale planting plan. With more monitoring under our belt from 2023 and 2024, we hired the Woods Hole Group to develop a planting plan and complete permitting for this effort. And the result is what you see today… over 90,000 plants installed over 1.8 acres in priority areas identified as those likely to have the greatest success.

We didn’t plant everywhere, and I don’t expect the impact to be instantaneous, but I have real hope (and data to support it) that in the next three to six years those who return to monitor it will have the same 'aha' moment I did.

And for people in the community—whether having lived there for decades or new to the neighborhood—I hope they will look out at the marsh and see nothing but a healthy thriving system with fiddler crabs, osprey, dragonflies, river herring, shellfish. And if we are really lucky, maybe even some nesting salt marsh sparrows in the high marsh.

Above: Before (2018, top) and after (2026, bottom) Spartina planting.

Dennis Conservation Land Trust and APCC Lead Nature Walk at Chase Garden Creek

Dennis Conservation Land Trust organized a nature walk at the Chase Garden Creek salt marsh and invited Molly Autery, APCC salt marsh specialist, to discuss APCC’s ongoing restoration efforts. Molly pointed out salt marsh features like berms, ditches, and pools, while discussing the ecological benefits of salt marsh restoration.

Above: Participants walk along a path at Chase Garden Creek salt marsh.

Above: David Fryxell, Dennis Conservation Land Trust executive director, meets nature walk participants before heading into the marsh.

Above: APCC Salt Marsh Specialist Molly Autery discusses how salt marsh restoration benefits wildlife in the marsh, including birds, turtles, and mussels.

Above: Participants pose for a group photo in Chase Garden Creek salt marsh.

On the Ponds

Above: Fresh Pond, Dennis

Cape Cod Pond Water Chemistry—The Tannin Factor

At first glance, Cape ponds, such as Fresh Pond in Dennis, may appear murky, dirty or unappealing for use. However, a closer look reveals that the water’s color isn’t caused by dirt or sediment, it is stained by natural compounds called tannins.

Tannins are naturally occurring polyphenols found in plant material. In ponds, they are released into the water as leaves, wood and other vegetation decay. While the presence of tannins doesn’t necessarily indicate poor water quality, they can be associated with certain water chemistry characteristics. For example, tannins can slightly lower a pond’s pH and contribute to softer water, which can be antibacterial for some fish species.

One fascinating benefit of tannins is that they provide natural UV protection for aquatic organisms. Tannin-rich water acts almost like a pair of sunglasses for fish, helping to reduce the amount of harmful ultraviolet light that penetrates the water.

You may already be familiar with tannins from your favorite cup of tea. The tannins in tea leaves are what give some teas their characteristic bitter or astringent taste. A similar process occurs in red wine, where tannins contribute to its flavor and texture.

Tannins are remarkable natural compounds that not only create the beautiful, amber-colored waters found in many Cape Cod ponds, but also play an important role in the ecology and chemistry of these unique freshwater ecosystems.

In the Living Landscape...

Above: American lady butterfly. Photo credit: Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)

The American Lady Loves Pussytoes

Last year, we planted plantain-leaved pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginfolia, and field pussytoes, Antennaria neglecta, both which thrive in dry sandy soil and both promise to cover the ground—just what we needed to recover the area disturbed by the renovation of the APCC barn into the Koppel Center. We made the right choice; the pussytoes have spread. The foliage stays low to the ground, shooting up flowers for a short period of time—and attracting the American lady butterfly.

At first glance, one might have thought that the plants were being plagued by some disease, but upon closer investigation... there they were, the caterpillars of the American lady butterfly, Vanessa virginiensis. Pussytoes are one of the American lady butterfly's host plants.

From Mass Audubon: On warm May days, overwintering adults become active, to be joined in early June by fresh specimens, newly emerged from the chrysalis. All of these American ladies are products of the previous year‘s summer generation, some hibernating as adult butterflies, others overwintering as pupae. A good reason to leave the leaves, and not disturb either of these overwintering stages—and to plant pussytoes!

Above photos: Pussytoes and American lady caterpillars in APCC's landscape.

Above: Pussytoes, Antennaria neglecta, wackybadger, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Above: Photo by Sue Machie.

Wed To This Place

by Bonnie Brewer

Since the age of five,
I knew I wanted to live on this wild,
raw peninsula.

Its alluring scrub pines
with their twisted bodies sculpted
by the wind as they survive
close to the shoreline dunes.

Intoxicating aroma of rosa rugosa, honeysuckle, and
crocuses
Plumes of beach and marsh grasses swaying in the
breeze
Bay and ocean in shades of blues, and greens
shift with the light
Sunrises and sunsets offering a palette of mesmerizing
hues pink,
magenta, orange, red, and yellow paint the sky
and water

Untamed natural beauty seductively commanding my
perpetual awe.

APCC is proud to again participate in the Numbers for Nonprofits program for the Falmouth Road Race!

We have a team of five dedicated runners who are lacing up to support APCC’s work, and one of the team members is APCC pond technician May Lopopolo! Check out their pages and please consider showing your support.

Help the team raise money to support APCC's work. CLICK HERE

Above: Clapps Pond, Provincetown. Photo by Sue Machie.

Cape Cod Ponds Network

Thursday, August 6th

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Join us for an in-person meeting of the Cape Cod Ponds Network at

the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster.

If you've not yet signed up to be part of the ponds network,

click the button below to stay informed.

Ponds Network

Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program 2026

If you notice pond water is scummy or discolored and may have a strong odor, avoid contact. If you see what you think might be a suspicious cyanobacteria bloom, notify your local health department and send a photo to cyano@apcc.org noting the location, day and time.

If you wish to receive an email when we detect a cyanobacteria bloom, SIGN UP HERE.

Our interactive map will have our most up-to-date findings at APCC.org/cyano.

Above: Erin Camire, APCC ecolandscape program coordinator, meets with client.

We are accepting appointments for our

Ecolandscape Consultation Program

If you want to make your yard friendlier to pollinators and wildlife, learn more about native plants and what will do well in your space. Learn about identifying and controlling invasive species and how to conserve water and protect the Cape’s water quality. We can help.

Fill out the form and Erin Camire, our ecolandscape program coordinator, will contact you via email to set up a day and time for the consultation at your residential property in any Cape town from Bourne to Provincetown.

The team will meet with you for an hour and a half, answer your questions, and send you a summary report. The fee is $350.

Read more here about the program and click on the "Get Started" button to schedule a consultation!

Sign up to Volunteer with Team SOS here. Team SOS volunteers help distribute educational materials and work on town teams to support The Cape We Shape campaign efforts.

We are trying to be at as many farmers' markets as possible this season to talk about APCC programs, including The Cape We Shape. Below is a list of where and when you can support your local farmers.

Events Hosted by Others

Conservation Begins at Home! Brewster Conservation Day turns 15 this year and Cape Cod’s best-loved conservation fair is promising to be better than ever. This free, fun, family event will be Sat, July 11, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Sea Camps Bay Property, 3057 Main Street, Brewster. For more information, click here.

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.

If you are a farmer or someone who wants to grow native plants to sell, or you just want to be updated on the program's development, please submit the interest form that appears on our webpage. We will be sending periodic email notices of workshops and meetings.

Funding for the project is provided by Barnstable County and its Economic Development Council License Plate Grant Program through the Cape Cod Commission, the Kelley Foundation and private donors.

Ten talks for prospective growers as part of the Cape Cod Native Plant Growers' Cooperative program have been presented thus far, with more scheduled in the upcoming weeks. These past workshops can be viewed here:

A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector

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

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

Photo credit: BlueRidgeKitties

Appalachian Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum flexuosum

The purpose of CapeCodNativePlants.org is to help native plant enthusiasts select the right plant for the right place. While not all native plants presented here are indigenous to Cape Cod, they are suitable native species for Cape gardens and managed landscapes.

Why Native Plants? Many native plants are drought tolerant, salt tolerant, and thrive in the “thin” soils found on Cape Cod. Native plants are as attractive as any plant, and are reflective of the Cape’s natural beauty. By planting native species appropriate for Cape Cod, you can conserve water, avoid pesticide and fertilizer use, and support pollinators and birds.

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.

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, Hyannis Country Garden, Orleans Whole Food Store, and Eight Cousins Bookshop.