The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) encompasses on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

, in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. CCNS was created on August 7, 1961, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

John F. Kennedy, when he signed a bill enacting the legislation he first co-sponsored as a Senator a few years prior. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. The CCNS includes nearly of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of Provincetown,

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham. It is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

Places of interest

Notable sites encompassed by the CCNS include Marconi Station (site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission), the Highlands Center for the Arts (formerly the North Truro Air Force Station), the Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District (a 1,950-acre historic district containing dune shacks and the dune environment), and the

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

known as Doane Rock. A former

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

station on the ocean in Truro is now operated as a 42-bed youth hostel by

Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation working with UNESCO and the World Tourism Organisation UNWTO. Formerly known as the International Youth Hostel Federation, Hostelling International has 60 member ...

USA. There are several paved bike trails: * Nauset Bike Trail—Eastham * Head of the Meadow Trail—Truro * Province Lands Trails—Provincetown There are several excellent beaches along the coastline with public facilities available seasonally. These include Race Point Beach in Provincetown and Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. Both of these have made "top beaches in the US" lists over the years.

Restoration and conservation efforts

As part of the NPS Centennial Initiative, the Herring River estuary will be restored to its natural state through removal of dikes and drains that date back to 1909. In 2010, the North of Highland Campground was protected with a conservation easement.

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Truro Conservation Trust, and other groups led a grassroots campaign to support the funding for the purchase price of the conservation easement from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), secured by U.S. Senator John Kerry, U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt, and former Senator Ted Kennedy. The Biddle Property, home of the late Francis Biddle, who was the U.S. attorney general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and served as the primary American judge during the post-war Nuremberg trials, was added to the Cape Cod National Seashore in 2011. Using funding from the

Land and Water Conservation Fund The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, an ...

, the Trust for Public Land purchased the property and conveyed it to the National Park Service. As part of the restoration efforts, a number of run-down and unsafe buildings of no historical significance will be removed from areas around CCNS and the affected lands will be restored. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) has provided more than $8 million to oversee this project that is to begin in 2023.

Gallery

Image:CCNS Sign.jpg, An entrance to the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Massachusetts Image:Ccnatsea.jpg, Cape Cod National Seashore Image:Nauset-light-cape-cod.jpg, Nauset Light Image:Highland-light-cape-cod.jpg, View from Highland Light Image:Marconi-beach-cape-cod.jpg, Marconi Beach Image:Race point sunset.jpg, Late July Sunset at Race Point Beach Image:Salt Pond Visitor Center, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham MA.jpg, Salt Pond Visitor Center

References

External links

Cape Cod National Seashore
National Park Service website.
Coastal Landforms and Processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts: A Primer

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

National Park Service map

A National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan. * Portnoy, J. W. et al.,
Kettle Pond Data Atlas for Cape Cod National Seashore: Paleoecology and Modern Water Chemistry
'' April 2001, 118 pp., Retrieved June 23, 2018. {{Authority control 1961 establishments in Massachusetts Chatham, Massachusetts Eastham, Massachusetts Landforms of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Beaches of Massachusetts Landmarks in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Massachusetts natural resources National Park Service areas in Massachusetts National seashores of the United States Orleans, Massachusetts Protected areas of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1961 Provincetown, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Truro, Massachusetts Wellfleet, Massachusetts

Places of interest

Restoration and conservation efforts

Gallery

See also

References

External links