Newsroom

For nearly fifty years, satellites have been orbiting the earth collecting imagery to monitor and study the health of our planet. What if we could use those images to learn more about the health of our ponds and lakes? 

The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration is seeking applications for its Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance Grant program, which seeks to encourage eligible applicants to replace structures with better-designed crossings that meet improved structural and environmental design standards and climate-resiliency criteria. 

Cape Cod Commission staff are working with all 15 Cape Cod communities to examine vulnerabilities in the roadway network and identify adaptation alternatives. The project employs state-of-the-art modeling and community engagement to identify and prioritize low-lying roads to target for coastal resiliency action.  The towns of Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Eastham, Truro, and Wellfleet are at the stage of the project that includes review of conceptual designs for high-priority road segments.

Transportation accounts for 55% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced on Cape Cod. While riding public transit is a way to reduce GHG emissions from personal vehicles, a fleet of zero-emissions buses could further reduce emissions – which the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) hopes to accomplish. The Commission is working with the CCRTA on a nine-month study to explore transitioning to a zero-emission fleet. 

The Cape Cod Ponds Network convened for the fourth time in February 2023. Nearly 70 people dedicated to and interested in improving and maintaining the quality of our region's ponds and lakes attended to learn more about communication and outreach efforts ponds groups can take to educate, inform, and engage citizens. 

The Cape Cod Commission's Chronology Viewer enables users to view historic trends and aerial imagery from 1938 to 2020. It has recently been upgraded with a new look, updated data, and an easier-to-use interface.

The Cape Cod Commission has been selected as a digital equity planning provider for the Cape’s 15 communities under the Massachusetts Broadband Institute's Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program. Through this program, the Commission will work with regional stakeholders to identify the community's needs to drive investment and activities to broaden internet access and usage.

The Cape Cod Commission is creating a Regional Housing Strategy to address housing supply, affordability, and availability issues by identifying appropriate areas for housing development, along with policies and strategies to further the plan’s goals.

As part of the Freshwater Initiative, the Commission is partnering with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) to develop a pond water quality monitoring program.

In 2022, the Cape Cod Commission worked with ten Cape Cod towns to examine vulnerabilities in the roadway network and identify adaptation improvements. The team has developed initial concepts for improvements and potential adaptation solutions for each prioritized site. Work in the remaining five Cape Cod towns of Chatham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, and Provincetown kicked off in early December.