CAPE COD VOLUNTEER POND GROUPS (NGOs)
Volunteer Pond groups on Cape Cod range from those dedicated to the health of a single pond, to coalitions covering all ponds in a town, to a combination of fresh and salt waterways, to those that also include adjoining lands. (If you know one pond advocacy group, you know one pond advocacy group.) Below are some examples:
Brewster Pond Coalition
“Protecting and Improving the health of Brewster’s Ponds” https://www.brewsterponds.org/
- Children’s Pond Education Program. Description of pond outreach programs the Coalition has done with children, as well as videos, books and other resources to engage children in learning about ponds.
https://www.brewsterponds.org/childrens-pond-education-program.html
- Pond water quality videos
https://www.brewsterponds.org/videos.html
Orleans Pond Coalition
“Dedicated to the health of Orleans Waterways for Over Twenty Years” https://www.orleanspondcoalition.org
- Blue Pages — A Guide to Protecting Cape Cod Waters
https://www.orleanspondcoalition.org/blue-pages/
Barnstable Pond Coalition
“Working together to restore and protect ALL Barnstable ponds and lakes.” www.barnstableponds.org
Friends of Chatham Waterways
“Committed to the Protection, Wise Use, and Enjoyment of Chatham’s Fresh and Salt Waterways and Adjoining Lands” https://chathamwaterways.org/wp/
Friends of Peters’ Pond (Sandwich)
“Our mission is to protect, preserve, educate and take action to improve the water quality of Peters Pond so it can be enjoyed by all of us and generations to come.” https://www.friendsofpeterspond.org
CAPE COD ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs
Association to Preserve Cape Cod (Established 1968)
“The mission of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, APCC, is to preserve, protect and enhance the natural resources of Cape Cod.” https://apcc.org/
- The State of the Waters: Cape Cod is an annual water health report that provides an assessment of Cape Cod’s water quality. The report is designed to help you understand the water quality problems that the Cape faces and the actions that are needed to address these problems. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) launched this multi-year project in 2019 in order to answer the question: “How healthy are Cape Cod’s waters?” https://capecodwaters.org/
- APCC’s Fact Sheets on Cyanobacteria, Eco-friendly landscapes, habitat protection, managing storm water, Pond Stewardship https://apcc.org/resources/fact-sheets/
- APCC’s Presentations on Pond Health, Climate Change, Herring, Native Plant Initiative, Cyanobacteria Workshop April 20 https://apcc.org/resources/presentations/
- APCC’s Video Library of its work (20+ items) https://apcc.org/resources/videos/
Center for Coastal Studies (Provincetown)
The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to understanding, preserving and protecting marine ecosystems and the coastal environment through applied research, education and public policy initiatives. https://coastalstudies.org
Friends of the Herring River (Wellfleet)
“To inspire and accelerate restoration of estuaries and ecosystems for the benefit of nature and all people.” https://herringriver.org/
Wellfleet Oyster Alliance
“The work of the Wellfleet Oyster Alliance (WOA) is a year round effort. We exist to serve the storied shellfishing industry of our hometown, Wellfleet, Massachusetts and the men and women who toil with the tides of Cape Cod Bay, harvesting the fruits of our home harbor.” https://www.wellfleetoa.org/
Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore
“The Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore 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, visitor experience and unique cultural heritage of the park.” https://www.fccns.org
TOWN OF WELLFLEET
Natural Resources Advisory Board
Among the responsibilities of the board: “The identification of the natural resources within the Town of significant importance —vistas, wildlife habitats, recreational open spaces, areas of special beauty, rarity, or historic interest, fauna and flora, especially endangered species, etc.—and appropriate action as may be possible to preserve and protect these resources.” https://www.wellfleet-ma.gov/natural-rsources-advisory-board
“2024 Wellfleet Pond Management Plan”
“Wellfleet’s ponds are among the last remaining pristine bodies of freshwater on Cape Cod. Like many other ponds on the Cape, they face significant threats from the unprecedented rise in water and air temperatures, exacerbated by increasing nutrient inputs from human activities in and around the ponds. These inputs contribute to higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorous, which feed the growth of invasive plants and toxic algae, jeopardizing the health of the ponds.
In response to these pressing challenges, the Wellfleet Natural Resources Advisory Board (NRAB) has developed a comprehensive Pond Management Plan, which it submitted to the Select Board on August 6, 2024. The Plan’s primary objective is to preserve the natural health of the ponds over the next decade while preventing the acceleration of the natural eutrophication process.” https://www.wellfleet-ma.gov/natural-resources-advisory-board/pages/2024-wellfleet-pond-management
Given the recent 2025 changes/reduction in funding to the National Park Service, the NRAB and Town of Wellfleet have organized interim emergency funding for testing of the pond water quality through April 2026. The longer term implications for the Cape Cod National Seashore Park water testing and pond management are part of on-going work by the NRAB and FWP.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE LEGISLATION
Cape Cod Commission Act
“The Cape Cod Commission Act was signed by Governor Michael S. Dukakis in January 1990 and ratified through a county-wide ballot in March 1990. The Act identifies the region as possessing unique natural, coastal, scientific, historical, cultural, architectural, archaeological, recreational, and other values that are threatened and may be irreparably damaged by uncoordinated or inappropriate uses of the region’s land and other resources. The Act charges the Commission with protecting, preserving, and enhancing these unique values.” https://www.capecodcommission.org/about-us/ccc-act/
Cape Cod Commission
The Cape Cod Commission guides land use planning, economic development, and the regulation of development proposals for Barnstable County. https://www.capecodcomission.org
- Cape Cod Pond and Lake Atlas (2003; 2022) “The updated Atlas examines the Cape’s freshwater bodies, covering pond ecology, water quality, and strategies to restore pond health.” https://www.capecodcommission.org/
- Freshwater Initiative (2025) “Through this initiative, the Cape Cod Commission and its partners analyzed available monitoring data, assessed the overall health of Cape Cod’s ponds and lakes, identified regional trends in water quality, and evaluated the impact of these critical resources on the region’s economy. This effort is informed by the 2021 Cape Cod Pond and Lake Atlas and will define a path forward for improving freshwater quality across the region.” https://capecodcommission.org/our-work/cape-cod-freshwater-initiative/
FEDERAL LEGISLATION
Public Law 87-126 Cape Cod National Seashore Act, August 7, 1961
An act to provide for the establishment of Cape Cod National Seashore. https://www.congress.gov/87/statute/STATUTE-75/STATUTE-75-Pg284.pdf
Cape Cod National Seashore
Cape Cod National Seashore is part of the national park system. “Congress recognized that the Outer Beach of the Cape Cod peninsula was nationally significant for ecological, historical, and cultural reasons. The variety of Cape Cod’s resources, and the many ways in which people experience these resources, are the key to its charm. But protecting the resources and at the same time providing for their continued use present significant challenges for all residents and land managers on the Cape.” https://www.nps.gov/caco/getinvolved/planning.htm
The Clean Water Act (1972)
The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. “Clean Water Act” became the Act’s common name with amendments in 1972. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act