Bakers Pond, Orleans

Cape Cod Pond and Lake Stewards (P.A.L.S.)

P.A.L.S. History
Recognizing the vital importance of ponds and lakes to the region, the Cape Cod Pond and Lake Stewardship (PALS) Program was developed in 2000 to coordinate pond-related activities among citizen groups and a variety of organizations, including the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Commission, the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, the Community Foundation of Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, the National Park Service-Cape Cod National Seashore, and the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Major accomplishments of the PALS includes the following:

• Establish a Volunteer Network (2000)

• Participate in National Secchi Dip-In (2001-2009)

• Annual Water Quality Snapshots (2001-present)

• Ponds in Peril Workshops (annual event with APCC)

• Local Pond Water Quality Reviews

• Prioritize Pond Properties for Protection

• Cape Cod Pond Atlas (2003)
  
  

Ponds and Lake Atlas
Cape Cod is a land of water, with over 1,000 surface water bodies covering nearly 11,000 acres. Most of these are depressions in the lands surface, created after the glaciers that formed Cape Cod 12,000 years ago retreated to the north. The Pond and Lake Atlas was completed to present information about the condition and characteristics of ponds across Cape Cod. With funding from the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the Community Foundation of Cape Cod, the cooperation and free laboratory services provided by the School of Marine Science and Technology(SMAT) at UMASS-Dartmouth, the grass roots enthusiasm of PALS volunteers and the tireless efforts of Eduard Eichner (former Water Quality Scientist with the Cape Cod Commission), the Pond Atlas was created.

Now for the first time, the Pond and Lake Atlas information is available on the internet. Use the links below to view data from the Atlas. Each town section contains a map with links to avaliable information on pond water quality and bathymetric maps.

NOTE THAT INFORMATION FOR ALL PONDS IS NOT AVAILABLE. THIS SITE INCLUDES ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WAS ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN THE POND AND LAKE ATLAS.

Summary Document

Barnstable Ponds

Bourne Ponds

Brewster Ponds

Chatham Ponds

Dennis Ponds

Eastham Ponds

Falmouth Ponds

Harwich Ponds

Mashpee Ponds

Orleans Ponds

Provincetown Ponds

Sandwich Ponds

Truro Ponds

Wellfleet Ponds

Yarmouth Ponds