Looking to get out of the house and keep the kids busy during April Vacation Week? We’ve got a great lineup of April programming. Stop by the park and check us out!
🚶 Wednesday, April 15, Discover Nauset Marsh Ranger Walk
🔍Week of April 20-24, Family Discovery Scavenger Hunt
🎨Week of April 20-24, Spring Mural
📡Saturday, April 25, International Marconi Day
More details for each program on our calendar: https://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/calendar.htm
NPS/French
May 11-17 is #NationalPoliceWeek. Thank you to our park's permanent and seasonal law enforcement rangers who protect our treasured landscapes, visitors and staff across the park.
We also take this time to honor our fallen rangers, United States Park Police officers and colleagues who have passed in the line of duty. Thank you for your service.
NPS/Durnin
It’s Endangered Species Day! Today highlights America’s wildlife comeback stories and the Endangered Species Act, signed into law by President Nixon in 1973.
Cape Cod National Seashore provides habitat, such as trees, structures and sources of fresh water, to a number of bat species, one of which is the federally endangered northern long-eared bat. Bats use these areas for feeding, roosting and for raising young of the year. Bats play a large role in controlling insect populations as well as serving as important pollinators. The park continues to work with partners to learn more about the bat species found here and how best to protect them and their habitat.
From the northern long-eared bat to the piping plover, Cape Cod National Seashore is home to many endangered species. It is important that we appreciate these species and recognize the work being done to protect them.
Learn More: /endangered-species-day/
USFWS Photo
🌸🌺🌼Spring brings 🌸🌺🌼
The Red Maple is the first tree to flower in spring. Red maples can be seen all over Cape Cod, especially in Red Maple Swamp.
The Red Maple is a native hardwood deciduous tree adapted to live in a variety of environments. These trees are an important habitat and food source for moths and butterflies, birds, chipmunks, squirrels and more.
Have you walked the Red Maple Swamp hiking trail?
Learn More: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/keeping-maples-in-the-red-maple-swamp.htm
NPS/M.Lewis
Based upon the potential for favorable weather and fuels conditions, Cape Cod National Seashore staff will be on scene and coordinating debris disposal burns on Friday, May 1 in the Marconi area of Wellfleet.
The debris disposal burn area is a large sand pit used to pile woody debris from trees and old fencing. The burn is planned to take place over one or two full days if conditions permit.
Additional debris disposal burns could take place up until June 20, 2026.
NPS Photo
We're wrapping up Volunteer Appreciation Month with one last volunteer highlight with Marcia and David, U.S. Life Saving Station volunteers. The pair can be found at the Old Harbor Life Saving Station in the summer, either in their standard volunteer attire, or their "surfmen" uniforms during live Breeches Buoy demonstrations. We asked Marcia a few questions about her service.
What volunteer position are you involved with?
-Old Harbor Lifesaving Station volunteer at Race Point. I greet guests and give tours. In July and August, I am part of the incredible team that represents the United States Lifesaving Station Crew that worked at that station in 1902 demonstrating the use of the Breeches Buoy, a system that was used in the day to rescue mariners from shipwrecks.
How long have you been a volunteer?
-Thirteen years!
Why did you decide to volunteer at Cape Cod National Seashore?
-When David and I moved back here from Washington State, we were excited to be near the CCNS. I grew up in Chatham where my grandfather had camp right across the beach from the original location of Old Harbor Lifesaving Station, and when I learned that volunteering there was an option, it was a perfect fit!
Do you have a favorite memory as a volunteer?
-I am fortunate to be able to share such an amazing story with people from near and far. And I get to do it with an incredible team, including my husband. The men of the U.S. Lifesaving Service were true heroes in every sense. They risked their lives regularly for people they knew nothing about except that they were human beings in need, and their training and skill allowed them to be very successful at it. It’s especially rewarding when parents come in with their children. Often the kids look like they’re thinking “oh, ugh, another museum”. But then we start to tell stories, and their eyes grow wide. By the time they leave they’re totally engaged.
David wanted to add that he has no special moment, just a general feeling of having those surfmen’s spirits resting on his shoulders and that he never wanted to let them down; either during the drill or explaining their work and work ethics to the park's visitors!
If whale watching is wrong, I don’t want to be Right.
North Atlantic Right Whales can be seen in Cape Cod Bay in the spring. These majestic whales are black in color, have no dorsal fin, and have a V-shaped blowhole. Every Right Whale has crusty, whitish looking raised tissue on their heads called callosities. These actually help scientists and researchers to identify and track whales.
Right Whales are baleen whales, meaning rather than teeth, they have baleen plates made of keratin. These baleen plates act as a sieve when these whales feed, filtering huge volumes of tiny crustaceans from the water.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, whale populations were decimated by the booming whaling industry for baleen, referred to back then as “whalebone,” and blubber, which was used to make whale oil. Whale oil was used for light because it is relatively smokeless and odorless.
Today, North Atlantic Right Whales are critically endangered, with only about 380 remaining. Conservation efforts are important for the future of this species.
Learn More: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale
https://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/draw-your-own-whale.htm
Photo: Jesse Mechling, Center for Coastal Studies
April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month! This week, we decided to highlight the two newest members to our Seal Education Team volunteers, Gail and Courtney. These two ladies can often be found working together, offering their enthusiasm and knowledge to beachgoers. As the name suggests, the Seal Education Team can be found near seal haul-outs during the busy summer months, helping inform visitors about both the biology and regulations regarding seals.
We asked Gail and Courtney a couple questions about their service, and this is what they had to say:
Why did you decide to volunteer at Cape Cod National Seashore?
Gail: I decided to volunteer because I feel incredibly grateful to live nearby a beautiful National Park and I appreciate all the Rangers, staff and volunteers who work so hard to maintain and protect this land. I felt strongly about wanting to do my part and contribute what I can to assist.
Courtney: Volunteering allows me to channel my passion for wildlife conservation by protecting seals, educating visitors, and supporting the National Park Service. I’m also able to bring these real-world experiences into my classroom, fostering that same passion in my students.
Do you have a favorite memory as a volunteer?
Gail: My favorite memory or experience is the incredibly dedicated men and women I have met on the Seal Education Team. Also I love when the kids come to view the seals and ask great questions.
Courtney: Each volunteer experience is unique and memorable, whether it's protecting seals, observing sandbars shift, discovering different organisms washed ashore, or meeting visitors from around the world. What stands out most are the connections: working alongside my fellow volunteers who have become friends and deepening my appreciation for our interconnectedness to the environment and its biodiversity, while doing my part to protect it.
Thank you, Gail and Courtney!
Happy Earth Day! Petition to make every day Earth Day, anyone?
Stewardship has always been at the cornerstone of the National Park Service’s mission. Cape Cod National Seashore works to protect the environment every day. From restoring natural ecosystems, to protecting threatened species, to educating youth about the natural ecosystems around them, park staff show appreciation for the earth by giving back.
How will you show appreciation for the earth today? Stop by the Salt Pond Visitor Center to share your reflections on a self-guided program.
Learn More: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?id=1345988B-023E-AFD0-3A68F9CA2FE66E40
NPS Photo
As the weather warms up and spring is upon us, our aquatic scientists are starting to monitor kettle pond water quality. Kettle ponds were created when fresh groundwater filled depressions that were left by glacier ice melt. The kettle ponds of Cape Cod National Seashore are ecological, recreational, and aesthetic treasures for their biodiversity and rare species.
Scientists go out in the field and use equipment to measure parameters such as temperature, pH (acidity), turbidity (murkiness). This data is important because it indicates the health of the ecosystem. Kettle ponds are sensitive to pollution and environmental changes, so monitoring is a key piece in protecting this beloved natural resource.
The kettle ponds are monitored beginning in the early spring before stratification (layering of the ponds) through fall turnover (when the ponds are not layered anymore), which usually happens in the late fall.
Learn More: https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/nature/ponds-and-freshwater-wetlands-monitoring.htm
NPS/M.Lewis
April is National Poetry Month ✨
The Outer Cape has long been a muse for artists inspired by its landscapes, seascapes, and quality of light. Artists such as Mary Oliver, Henry David Throreau, William and Lucy L’Engle, Jackson Pollock, Tennessee Williams, E.E. Cummings, Henry Beston and Eugene O'Neill have all drawn inspiration from their surroundings near and around Cape Cod National Seashore.
In 2024, the park hosted U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to install a picnic table exhibit with the poem “Can You Imagine” by Mary Oliver inscribed on top.
What inspires you at Cape Cod National Seashore?
NPS/French
Join our team! The park is hiring a full-time Administrative Specialist based in Wellfleet.
The candidate's primary duties span two administrative areas: housing management and human resources management. Candidate will be responsible for a broad range of administrative management work with principal duties in administration, personnel, and benefits functions.
To apply, you must have a USAJobs.gov account and a federal resume. Federal resumes are different than private sector resumes, so read about what you should include in your federal resume: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
For the full job details and a link to the application: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/864868500
NPS Photo
