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Association to Protect Cape Cod launches ‘Cape We Shape’ campaign in Falmouth, urging targeted land protection
Summary
APCC presented a regional land-protection campaign, saying 86% of Cape Cod is developed or protected and highlighting 14% of land at risk. The group aims to map priority natural landscapes, educate residents, and build municipal teams to preserve water quality, habitat and resilience.
The Association to Protect Cape Cod (APCC) introduced its Cape We Shape initiative to the Falmouth Select Board on April 13, framing the campaign as a Cape-wide effort to identify and protect the most critical 14% of unprotected lands.
APCC’s executive director (transcript: "Andrew") walked the board through historical land-use maps and criteria APCC uses to classify priority natural landscapes, including groundwater and surface-water protection zones, rare and endangered species habitat, and coastal and inland flood-prone areas. The campaign will focus on towns’ most valuable undeveloped parcels and seek to mobilize local coalitions to pursue protection through public purchases, conservation restrictions, and coordination with regional partners.
APCC said 86% of Cape Cod is either developed or protected and that the remaining 14% contains many parcels of high resource value. The group emphasized that protection strategies should be locally led and tailored to each town’s needs. APCC offered technical assistance, an interactive GIS mapping effort, and campaign support to help towns prioritize parcels and develop funding strategies.
Board members asked about farmland and housing trade-offs; APCC said farmland preservation is important but the present campaign concentrates on undisturbed natural lands that protect drinking water, habitats and storm resilience. The presenter said APCC will create town-by-town maps and is hiring a campaign manager to support local teams.
What’s next: APCC will break down Capewide maps into town maps and engage local teams; Falmouth officials may coordinate with APCC on priority parcels and funding strategies.
