November - December, 2017 


 

NATIONAL

SEASHORE
MAGAZINE

 

2017 issue 


 

IN THIS ISSUE

UPCOMING EVENTS
 
All events are FREE and take place at Salt Pond Visitor Center (SPVC), Eastham, unless otherwise noted. For complete information go to www.fccns.org


Saturdays and Sundays 
December 1-31

Indoor Explore and Learn Tables
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

 
Daily December 26 - January 1

Indoor Explore and Learn Tables
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

 
Thursday
December 7

Friends Member Event 
Stories Behind the Scenery
Truro Highlands parking area
1:00 - 2:30 PM

 
Saturday
December 9

Sandra L Meyer Artist Reception
2:00 - 4:00 PM

 
Wednesday
Dec. 27
Walk : Discover Nauset Marsh
1:00 - 2:00 PM

 
Friday
December 29

Walk : Wildlife in the Seashore
Lower parking lot Fort Hill
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

GIFT MEMBERSHIP

Consider giving a gift membership to a friend or  
family member - a great way to support our magnificent Seashore!
 
IN MEMORY OF/
IN HONOR OF GIFT

Give a gift in memory of or in honor of a special person in your life by going to "Donate" on Friends website.
 
WILL BEQUESTS

If interested in learning more about arranging a bequest to Friends, please go to the Friends website, click on "Donate" and scroll to bottom to "Name the Friends of CCNS in Your Will."
 
BECOME A MEMBER

If you are receiving eNews but are not yet a Friends member, we encourage you to become a Friend. Go to "Join" at  www.fccns.org.
 
VOLUNTEERS WANTED!

Contact info@fccns.org
for a list of Friends' volunteer opportunities, or link directly to the Park's volunteer site.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

 

 

 

 

 



A message from our president

Dear FRIENDS,
                               
Biting wind pushes people to walk faster.  Despite the cold, surfers still enjoy their sport. As I write this, a true November day greets the towns of the Seashore.

 "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else", the immortal Yogi Berra reminds us. 

With that in mind and with help from Cape Cod SCORE, your Friends' board and other volunteers have spent the past few months charting a course for the next three years.

More to come on this as we finalize our path forward.

Meanwhile, an anonymous donor has challenged us to raise $10,000, which she will match.  The board voted to target ponds in Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown.

The $20,000 will go a long way to help these ponds that we have loved over the years. 

The board is extremely grateful for the generosity of this donor.  We anticipate that you'll "step up to the plate" (continuing the baseball theme) and hit a home run for the ponds!
 
                                                               Pat Canavan
Ways to Support the Friends
This Holiday Season

Just in time for the holidays, a new gift membership program is launching!

The membership will include five note cards with beautiful professional photos of lighthouses in the Park, in addition to all the usual perks of membership. Visit our website after Thanksgiving where a link will lead you to details.
 
Amazon Smile is a program that enables shoppers to designate a charity to receive .5% of their purchases as a donation from Amazon. Friends is an eligible 501(c)(3) charity registered to participate. 

Simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser, type Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore in the search box, and shop as usual. You can bookmark the page so that you are automatically shopping at Amazon Smile every time you use the site.  With multiple users this can really add up!
 
Shop at Eastern National Gift and Bookstore in Salt Pond Visitor Center.  Friends members receive a 15% discount on all merchandise and a percentage of profits go to CCNS. A member list is kept at the bookstore if you don't have your membership card.
News from the Seashore


  Erosion Takes its Toll at Nauset Light Beach

Park staff and a contractor are demolishing facilities at Nauset Light Beach, including the removal of the septic tank in early December.

Ongoing erosion (10-15 feet per year) necessitates the removal of the tank. The park will install temporary facilities in advance of receiving funding for replacement facilities. 

The stairs have been removed and the new walking path to Nauset Light Beach is being installed and should be complete sometime in early winter. The path is a long-term, sustainable solution to erosion and loss of stairs. The path, while stairless, does not meet accessibility standards because of the grade.
 
 

Other historic preservation projects getting underway in 2018 include Nauset Coast Guard Station exterior rehab, rehab of the Penniman Barn, Highland Light tower (late 2018), Old Harbor exterior work, and Province Lands amphitheater rehab.



Great news for shorebird lovers! 

Piping plovers fledged in South District increased to 39 from 26 pair, and in the North District to 80 from 40 pair. Migrating birds have been center stage this fall-common and roseate tern.


One Painter's View of the Outer Cape 
 
Artist Sandra L Meyer will be featured at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in the month of December.   As a native of New England, Sandra finds inspiration in the natural beauty of the environment and culture of Cape Cod. 

In this exhibit, One Painter's View of the Outer Cape, she captures the memories and colors of summers spent on Cape Cod.

 A public reception will be held with the artist on Saturday December 9 from 2:00 - 4:00 at SPVC.
 

Pond lovers, step right up! 

Thanks to a generous challenge grant from an anonymous donor, Friends funds will focus Park efforts on improvements to five of our beloved ponds.  

Park staff's assessment of ponds' conditions indicate that:
  • Wellfleet's Dyer Pond and Duck Pond
  • Truro's Snow Pond and Great Pond
  • Provincetown's Beech Forest pond area
need critical improvements to maintain their health.  

These improvements include removing hazardous trees, controlling access points, installing fencing, and planting native shrubs and biodegradable jute netting to restore shoreline vegetation.  (The photo above shows a before and after rehabilitation). 

Those of us who visit Truro's Great Pond will breathe easier with the installation of a replacement stairway. However, these improvements can't happen without you.  

Our $10,000 challenge grant means that we must raise $10,000.  Consider these forms of (relatively) painless giving:
 
  • Give a gift membership.  There are several membership categories to accommodate any budget.  See our new gift membership offer elsewhere in this enews.
  • Donate online at fccns.org and designate the Ponds Project.
  • Send a check to FCCNS, P.O. Box 550, Wellfleet, MA 02667
We love the Seashore's ponds for their quiet beauty; the respite they provide from a hectic world. These kettle ponds, reminders of glacial melting, also provide essential habitat for fish, frogs, turtles, plants and animals.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h your donation through this challenge grant!                       

Friends' Member Event

Truro Highlands Historic District
The Stories Behind the Scenery

Thursday, December 7, 1-2:30 pm
 
Join Cape Cod National Seashore Seashore Historian Bill Burke and Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources Sue Moynihan for a visit to the Truro Highlands Historic District, where the Outer Cape's rich tourism and maritime histories are showcased. 

During this outdoor field trip we'll learn the fascinating stories behind the Highland House, Highland Links Golf Course, and Highland Light, while seeing how partners maintain the historic properties and make them available to the public. 

We'll end the visit with a climb to the top of Highland Light for one of the Cape's best views! 

Dress for being outdoors in the cold for 1 1/2 hours. Heavy rain and snow will cancel. 

Meet in the parking area of the Truro Highlands Historic District, 27 Highland Light Road, off South Highland Road in Truro. 

Our Mission Statement

Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore (FCCNS) is the not-for-profit fundraising partner of the Cape Cod National Seashore; a partnership established in 1987 to help preserve, protect and enhance the fragile environment and unique cultural heritage of the Park. By leveraging existing federal support with additional private philanthropy, FCCNS engages members, donors and visitors alike in the shared values of cultural appreciation, environmental stewardship and historical preservation.