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The Cape Cod Commission is pleased to announce the release of the draft Cape Cod Freshwater Strategy, a comprehensive, data-driven plan that defines a path forward for Cape Cod to support healthy, functioning freshwater ecosystems. The draft strategy is available for public comment. Comments will be accepted through Monday, March 17, 2025.

On January 13, 2025, the CCIWPF Board voted to approve two key motions to enhance financial support for water quality monitoring programs, highlighting their connection to the Fund's mission. These programs aim to improve the understanding of both coastal and freshwater ecosystems, ensuring informed, science-based decision-making for the region.    

As work on the Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative nears completion, the Cape Cod Commission is pleased to present new tools and resources to support the region’s freshwater ponds.

The Cape Cod Commission launched the Freshwater Initiative in 2022, responding to growing concerns about the health of the region's 890 ponds and lakes. Cape Cod's freshwater resources are dynamic natural systems that contribute to the region's identity. A strategy to support protection and restoration of Cape Cod’s ponds is nearly complete. It includes data, research, and re

The Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative is moving forward, with much being accomplished over the past few months. Stakeholder groups, organized by groundwater lens, met three times over the past three months to learn about and share thoughts on the region’s freshwater resources, discuss pond management strategies and priorities, and share ideas for advancing and implementing actions to support pond health.  Stakeholder feedback will inform recommendations and resources that result from the Freshwater Initiative. The final round of stakeholder meetings took place in early June, with groups meeting in Sandwich, Harwich, and Wellfleet. 

Stakeholder engagement is a critical component of planning processes, helping to build consensus on impactful recommendations and create actionable plans. Stakeholder engagement to inform the Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative continued in March, with the launch of a process to engage diverse perspectives in working groups organized by groundwater lenses.

Spring is here, and along with all the other typical signs of spring, Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) staff and volunteers have resumed the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program.

The Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative is a science-based, information-driven planning process that engages stakeholders and enables action to protect and restore Cape Cod’s freshwater resources. It began in 2021 with an update to the Cape Cod Ponds Atlas. Since then, the team has been working to collect the data needed to make informed management decisions in our ponds and to better understand how they are changing from season to season and year to year.

We know that Cape Cod’s 890 ponds and lakes add to the region’s natural beauty, but how much do they impact our region’s economy?

Last year we launched the Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative to enable action to protect and restore our freshwater ponds and lakes.