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As a federal Economic Development Administration (EDA)-designated Economic Development District, Cape Cod is required to develop a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) every five years. With the current plan set to expire in 2024, work is underway to lay the groundwork for a renewed strategy to support a strong and vibrant Cape Cod.

This Regulatory Update provides a status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission. Visit www. capecodcommission.

A status on projects currently under Cape Cod Commission review.

In 2021, the Commission began work on the Low-Lying Roads Project, an effort to assess and analyze the region’s low-lying roads and to devise solutions that towns can implement to increase their resiliency in the face of increased climate impacts. The project will be complete in 2024, with vulnerable roads identified and solutions presented in all 15 Cape Cod towns.

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.

This Regulatory Update provides a status on projects currently under review by the Cape Cod Commission. Visit www.capecodcommission.org/regulatory for a full overview of our Regulatory program and answers to frequently asked questions.   

To understand the dynamics at work affecting water quality in ponds, Commission staff sought a specialist familiar with the biogeochemical interactions in freshwater bodies, the monitoring metrics needed to track these interactions, and potential strategies to address water quality problems. A limnologist helps us ask the right questions, delve deeply into the potential sources of the issues, and consider solutions to water quality decline.

The first season of the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program has come to a close, with final samples collected from the region’s ponds in early November.

The Cape Cod Commission will lead an effort to expand satellite-derived water quality data collection and analysis and enhance existing pond monitoring efforts, funded by a $298,527 Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Priority Research Grant.