Lead by Ryan Mann of the Harwich Conservation Trust, the guests were given a lively session on how important the great marsh is for the eco system of Cape Cod.

At one time on Cape Cod, the view out your kitchen window might have included the small fury form of a New England Cottontail. These days however, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that you will be paid a visit from this once prolific rabbit.

The New England Cottontail which previously thrived throughout the region is in peril. It now inhabits only 14% of its once large range due to a number of factors. The most pressing factor is, as with many wild creatures, the loss of habitat. Cottontails depend on shrub thickets, young regenerating forests and costal shrublands to provide the low woody ground cover they call home and as Cape Cod has been developed and subdivided over the years, this habitat has become cleared and fractured. 

Another factor in our local cottontail’s decline has been displacement by its cousin the Eastern Cottontail. This more adaptable rabbit is better at detecting and fleeing from predators, typically breeds in higher numbers and can thrive in a variety of habitats including the lawns and golf courses that are ubiquitous in our area. For all these reasons it has secured its hold on Cape Cod and as a result, furthered the decline of the New England Cottontail.

article by Leah Servis, Nelson House caretaker

Orenda appreciates the generous support from our donors over the years…without you we wouldn’t be able to protect habitat for wildlife on Cape Cod and beyond!

On a recent morning during one of the many snowfalls this season, my daughter Maya and I ventured out for a walk.  Big flakes floated down through the lichen laden branches of oaks lining our driveway. Their dark outlines etched a stark contrast to the white-gray stratus stretched overhead.  The ground beneath my feet was slick with fresh fallen snow over the thick ice that spends the duration of the winter months preventing all but four wheel-drive from making the decent to our little cottage, and I chose my footing carefully.

It may have been this careful stepping that had so fully consumed my attention; I was startled to a stop when I realized we were not alone. Looking down into the lowland that gives Valley Road its name, a white tailed deer stood  still on the ridge, peering through the falling snow flakes.  I wondered if this was the same animal that had so thoroughly consumed the tender sprouts of hosta in my garden last spring, and the plump buds of my tulips the year before? But looking at the majestic animal I could hardly fault her. The outline of ribs under her fur was clear and their steady rise and fall with her breath the only movement in the frozen landscape.

I had barely enough time to register these thoughts before a movement behind her caught my eye.  Another doe I hadn’t noticed for her silent posture,  turned and leapt further into the woods along the ridge. At this movement a third doe, still further into the brush, moved as well and the trio bounded off together likely in search of nourishment among the scarce evergreen flora. 

 As we trekked back towards our little house I thought about how precious this little oasis of land is. Both for the people who have lived in our caretaker’s house over the years and of course for the animals whose offspring for generations to come will know what it is like to forage through the cold winter months in these little hills of Plymouth.

written by: Leah Servis-caretaker of the David Nelson House Sanctuary-February 2011

The Carl Monge Sanctuary dedication. From left to right: Eugene Curry, Esquire, Paula Goldberg of the Compact, Patricia Weeden and her son, Barbara Birdsey of Orenda, Dick Boyden of Orenda, Kenneth Burnes of Orenda, Ellie Monge widow of Carl Monge, Liz Lewis of Orenda, Tom Fudala of Mashpee, Mark Robinson of the Cape Compact and Farley Lewis of Orenda

Acquired in June 2010-The Carl Monge sanctuary comprises of 13.7 acres of woodlands that lie within  the boundaries of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge.  Surrounded by two important properties; the 86-acre Makepeace Sanctuary and the 50-acre Mercy Lowe Sanctuary which are also owned by Orenda.   This sanctuary includes pine barrens, a globally rare habitat.  The property was formerly owned by the Weeden family for over a century and  was protected forever in a dedication ceremony on October 8, 2010 to the memory of Carl Monge, a past president of Orenda Wildlife Land Trust.

See further information about this property in our sanctuary list. 

Photo by Dick Boyden