Association to Preserve Cape Cod

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Association to Preserve Cape Cod

Visit APCC's website at APCC.org Since 1968, APCC has been Cape Cod’s voice for the environment.

Our Vision: A carbon-neutral Cape Cod where waters are restored and protected, natural landscapes and wildlife habitat are preserved and where growth respects the character of town centers and rural lands. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod is the region’s leading nonprofit environmental organization, working for the adoption of laws, policies and programs that protect and enhance Cape Cod’s nat

ural resources and quality of life. Our efforts have led to landmark achievements in water resource protection, land preservation and smart growth, earning APCC the reputation as Cape Cod’s most prominent and influential environmental advocacy group. Cape Cod is a fragile land of unique habitats and sensitive natural resources. Our ponds, meadows, forests, dunes, salt marshes, heathlands and beaches are inextricably linked to our economy and our way of life. APCC is committed to the stewardship of this special land of sand and water, speaking out for Cape Cod’s environment, building effective partnerships, and providing real solutions for Cape Cod’s environmental challenges—now and for future generations.

05/31/2026

Wetlands are coming back to life at Hinckleys Pond.

Last year, the Hinckleys Pond–Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project restored 30 acres of wetland habitat across two retired cranberry bogs in Harwich.

One year later, the site is already showing strong signs of recovery.

Before restoration, surveys documented 58 plant species, including 50 native species and 29 wetland-adapted species. After restoration, surveys found 91 plant species, including 73 native and 44 wetland-adapted species.

The biggest signal? Wetland plant diversity more than doubled in surveyed plots.

These retired bogs were once wetlands before being ditched, sanded, and managed for cranberry production for more than 150 years. Restoration work is now helping return wetland hydrology, allowing wetland-adapted plants to reestablish from plantings and the existing seedbank.

APCC is proud to support this work with Harwich Conservation Trust and project partners — and we’ll continue monitoring the site to learn how restoration techniques like sand removal and microtopography shape long-term recovery.

Restoration takes time, but the first-year results are encouraging.

05/30/2026

🌱APCC Annual Native Perennial Sale, Wednesday, June 3rd.

👉🏼Check it out. It's not your typical plant sale. https://apcc.org/native-plant-sale/

🦋1,500 native perennials - grown from ethically sourced seed to preserve genetic diversity
💮30+ species - native species that do well on Cape Cod
🌎Peat-free soil - for the love of the planet
💚No plastic pots - also for the love of the planet
💰$10 plus tax - quart containers

Our sale gets more native plants in the ground, and is a fundraiser for APCC. HUGE thanks to BlueFlax Design LLC for underwriting the sale.

Get your order ready, so you can log on Wednesday morning!

05/28/2026

This flag didn't end up at a coffee shop in Falmouth by accident. Coffee Obsession

Someone brought it there. Someone who knows that our clean water, open land, and wild places aren't guaranteed and decided their corner of the Cape was worth showing up for.

That's who Team SOS is. And we need people like that in every town.

Join Team SOS: TheCapeWeShape.org

05/27/2026

The Cape isn't just a place people come to get away.

It's where people raise kids, run businesses, and grow old, because something about the Cape feels special.

That something is fragile. The open land. The clean water. The wildlife that depends on both. Those things don't happen by accident. They happen because land gets protected, and they disappear when it doesn't.

If the Cape means something to you, join Team SOS to fight for its most critical remaining land.

05/26/2026

We are thankful to be selected by Del Mar Vacations to be part of the Guest Choice Program that encourages visitors to explore the area and shop local.

Scan the QR code at participating businesses to collect a stamp, discover other participating spots, and get entered to win a $5,000 vacation giveaway. And to boot, every scan helps to support APCC this season!

05/25/2026

🌿🌿Restoration planting is underway at Sesuit Creek salt marsh in Dennis.

Crews began mobilizing thousands of native "Spartina alterniflora" plugs that will be planted across 1.8 acres of persistently bare marsh. In total, more than 90,000 smooth cordgrass plants will be installed to help stabilize sediment, rebuild marsh vegetation, capture tidal sediment, and strengthen the marsh’s resilience to sea level rise.🌱

The effort builds on earlier tidal restoration completed by the town of Dennis in 2008 and a successful APCC pilot planting in 2018.

With support from Woods Hole Group, Sumco Eco-Contracting, Dennis Conservation Land Trust, the Town of Dennis, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, Cape Cod Conservation District, Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership, and local landowners, this large-scale planting will help guide future salt marsh restoration efforts across the region.

05/21/2026

Big wins for Cape Cod's future!

On May 4th, Team SOS supported Land Trust partners, advocating for permanent land protection at town meetings across the Cape—and it paid off.

✅ BREWSTER: final 10 of a total 70 acres at Long Pond Sea Camps protected for clean water & future generations Brewster Conservation Trust
✅ HARWICH: 18 acres near Robbins Pond preserved for wildlife & water quality in partnership with Harwich Conservation Trust
✅ MASHPEE: ~7 acres secured under conservation restriction, with stewardship from Native Land Conservancy

Conservation-minded voters across the Cape are flexing their political muscle and getting stronger together.

Join Team SOS and be part of the movement: TheCapeWeShape.org

05/20/2026

We love the Cape.

The people. The wildlife. The sand dunes. The ponds.

They all depend on each other, and on us.

Raise the flag and show the Cape it can count on you.

📩 Email [email protected] to get your flag, raise it in your community, and share it with .

05/19/2026

Help Us Track Cape Cod’s Blue Mussel Story - For decades, blue mussels were one of the most familiar sights on New England’s rocky shores. They formed dense beds along intertidal shorelines, jetties, pilings, and other hard surfaces, creating habitat for small marine life and providing food for fish, birds, and other coastal species.

However, across the region, scientists have documented major declines in wild blue mussel populations over the past several decades. In some places where mussel beds were once thick and widespread, they are now sparse or nearly absent.

Blue mussels are considered a foundation species because they help shape the intertidal community around them. Mussel beds provide shelter for small marine animals, serve as an important food source, and help filter coastal waters.

When mussels disappear, the shoreline community changes with them.

The causes of these declines are complex. Warming air and water temperatures, predation from invasive European green crabs, pollution, storm impacts, and other changing coastal conditions may all play a role. One of the biggest challenges to tracking the decline is understanding where mussels were historically abundant, where they remain today, and where people have noticed changes over time.

To help fill those gaps, the five regions of the MassBays National Estuary Partnership are working together to track blue mussel abundance across Massachusetts. As the MassBays Regional Coordinator for Cape Cod, APCC is gathering both current observations and anecdotal information about blue mussels in our region. We are asking residents, shellfishermen, municipal staff, beach walkers, boaters, fishermen, naturalists, and anyone with knowledge of local shorelines to share what they have seen.

Have you noticed blue mussels in your area? Do you remember places where mussels used to be more common? Have you seen changes along a favorite beach, harbor, jetty, rocky shoreline, or dock?

Please consider taking a brief survey to help us better understand Cape Cod’s blue mussel history and current distribution.

Take the survey! https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/c46d846e258a48b3bbbaf9cf4dce2a0c

Your observations can help provide important local context and guide future monitoring, research, and restoration efforts across Cape Cod and Massachusetts.

05/18/2026

Progress is possible. We've already proven it.

Thousands of acres across the Cape have already been protected permanently, but we need to preserve more. This land is essential for our way of life. Our clean water, our wildlife, our coastline, and our communities that depend on them.

This is what progress looks like. And there's still time to be part of it.

Join Team SOS: TheCapeWeShape.org

Address

482 Main Street
Dennis, MA
02638

Telephone

(508)6193185

Website

https://apcc.org/, https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/cape-cod, https://capecodnativeplants.org/, https://thecapew

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