An Island Adventure
Hello and welcome to the Island Adventures of Barnstable Clean Water Coalition. The island of interest is Dead Neck Sampson’s, located just south of Osterville and Cotuit on Nantucket Sound. What better way to start off our 2021 summer season than in traditional New England fashion – a dreary Memorial Day weekend followed by a […]
Island Time with Ranger Rick
After wading to shore from the boat I sit down on the beach to remove my gum boots…much easier (and more comfortable!) to patrol in sneakers. Squinting hard because of the sun ricocheting off the calm water like so many tiny lasers. Going to be a bright one so I’d better break out the sunblock […]
Dead Neck Sampson’s Island Revisited By Local Author
We are excited to share the news that starting this spring, we will be working with local author and ecologist Gil Newton on an in-depth book about Dead Neck Sampson’s Island (DNSI)! This book will include a natural history survey of DNSI, identifying all the plants and animals found on the island, as well as […]
AmeriCorps Spotlight
BCWC’s new AmeriCorps Service member Colleen Lucey hails from Derry, New Hampshire. After studying psychology and minoring in environmental studies at Stonehill College in eastern Massachusetts, Colleen decided to join AmeriCorps. “I knew that I wanted to do something that included field work, and AmeriCorps made sense.” Colleen’s work with BCWC focuses on water sampling. […]
Sands of Time
The phrase “sands of time” is from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It describes the mark that great people leave on history. Time is like ever-shifting sand, it is never at a standstill. Yet in those mires of sand, some people leave their mark and are remembered for their actions and achievement. Over the […]
The Herring Are Coming and We Are Ready (COVID-Style)!
Triggered by warming waters, the annual migration of river herring from Nantucket Sound, along Dead Neck Sampson’s Island, through the Three Bays estuary, and up the Marstons Mills River is a sure sign spring has arrived on Cape Cod. BCWC will once again oversee the herring counts along the Marstons Mills River at the Mill […]
That’s a Wrap!
On Dead Neck Sampson’s Island (DNSI), years of erosion and longshore drift have resulted in sand from the eastern end (Dead Neck) moving and depositing at the western tip (Sampson’s) of the island. The recent three-year maintenance dredging project on DNSI that began in November 2018 wrapped up early in November 2020. Upon completion, over […]
A Note from The Helm
Over twenty years ago, Three Bays Preservation was founded with a mission to protect our bays with a primary focus to preserve the barrier island known as Dead Neck Sampson’s Island (DNSI). Four years ago, we changed our name to Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC), as we recognized that everything we loved about Cape Cod […]
Exploring Solutions to Excess Nutrients: Restoring Cape Cod’s Waters
Welcome to the bulletin on the Environmental Protection Agency’s research to address excess nutrient loading in Cape Cod’s waters! This will be a biannual update for interested community members on what EPA scientists based in the Office of Research and Development and Region 1, Boston, MA, and our many research partners and stakeholders, have been […]
All About the Birds
All About the Birds BCWC and the Massachusetts Audubon Society co-own and co-manage Dead Neck Sampson’s Island (DNSI). Did you know that DNSI is a private wildlife sanctuary where protected species of shorebirds, spend the spring and summer nesting and feeding? Read on to learn more about four feathered DNSI visitors. Piping Plover: Charadrius […]