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Extension on the Cape & Islands

About Cape Cod and the Islands:

The Cape Cod region of Massachusetts is composed of Barnstable County, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The largest town in the region is Barnstable.

Taking the High Road During a Flood

It’s not hard to imagine watching a news clip from Cape Cod as high tide combined with a hurricane deluge overtakes much of the peninsula. Homes are flooded, businesses lose merchandise and property is destroyed. This is not an imaginary scenario; floods are happening with greater frequency as the effects of climate change increase with each passing year.

‘Alarming’ Rate of Cold-Stranded Sea Turtles in Cape Cod Bay, UMass Investigates

Lucas Griffin, postdoctoral researcher in environmental conservation, is quoted in an article about the increase in stranding of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on Cape Cod. Griffin explains that warming sea water has led the turtles to migrate further north in the summer but the animals are not prepared for the cold winter that follows. (New York Times, 12/19/19; News Office release)

Protecting the Cape

There’s the Massachusetts that most of its almost 7 million residents know.  And then there’s Cape Cod. The thing about Cape Cod is that it has a unique ecosystem quite different from that of the rest of the Commonwealth.  The differences include fragile water supplies susceptible to contamination, serious beach erosion and seafood safety challenges. These very real issues raise questions that demand reliable answers and an educated public.

Experts Dash Hopes That Frigid Temps Will Kill Local Ticks

January 13, 2018

Ticks have a natural antifreeze system that helps them survive cold — even severe cold — weather. "Ticks lying underneath the snow pack could be larvae, nymphs or adults,” said Dr. Stephen Rich, a microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Adults will be active as soon as the snow melts and temps warm,” he said. “Nymphs will follow in late May/June.”  (Cape Cod Times 1/13/18)

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