SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

2 – 4:30 SALT POND VISITOR CENTER
- Sign in and pick up your registration materials (registration must be made in advance using the form on the following page - $10/adult covers bus transportation and admission to all Saturday presentations)

This is a great time to view the museum and explore the Salt Pond Visitor Center

6:30 - ? WELCOME DINNER - FOUR POINTS by SHERATON
- The perfect time to visit, dine, and enjoy a photo presentation ("50 Years of Cape Cod National Seashore") put together by the park historian Bill Burke. Come catch up with old friends and make some new ones.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

9 - 11:30 SCIENCE LAB TOUR - HIGHLANDS CENTER
– Tour the North Atlantic Coastal Laboratory and learn what the scientists are up to in the ponds, marshes, uplands, beaches, forests, and more. Join Shelley Hall, Chief of Natural Resource and Judith Oset Natural Resource Laboratory Technician for an intriguing morning. Learn how we went from one scientist to a full staff of over 25!

Bus departs from Marconi Beach Parking Lot. Limited to first 25 people.

8:30 - 12 PARK TOUR
- Be the tourist for once and enjoy a tour of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Highlights of the tour include stops at Marconi Site, Highland Light, Province Lands Visitor Center, and Race Point Ranger Station.

Bus departs from Little Creek Parking Lot at 8:30 am. Limited to first 100 people.

9 - 11:30 IS BIGGER REALLY BETTER... MCMANSIONS and BIG WIND at CAPE COD NS
- Preserving the Cape Cod Character and the "integrity of existing structures" was not a done deal when President Kennedy signed the legislation for the National Seashore. Early conflict over building remodeling led way to 1980s use guidelines that were later tested in the 1990's and 2000's by the growing scale and mass of house construction projects. A major insult to preservation minded people came in 2010 when a 6,000 sq. foot house was allowed to replace a 550 sq. foot cottage in place in 1961. Others became upset by the prospect of large-scale wind turbines.

Join Superintendent George Price and Park Planner Lauren McKean for a slide show and field trip about this continuing hot topic.

Meet at Park Headquarters. Ample parking in the rear of the building.

Limited to first 20 people.

1:30 - 3:30 MARSH RESTORATION
– Salt marsh restoration is among the most critical efforts taking place in the national seashore. Places such as Hatches Harbor in Provincetown and East Harbor in North Truro have been restored to a more natural state. Although the process takes time and effort, it is possible. Herring River in Wellfleet is the newest and largest salt marsh restoration project the seashore has undertaken. Join Tim Smith Restoration Ecologist for a “fresh water to salt water” presentation and a field trip.

Meet at the North Atlantic Research Laboratory Classroom at Highland Center. Limited to the first 20 people.

1:30 - 3:30 FIRE/VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
– Do you like fire?? Join David Crary the park’s Fire Management Officer, and the Cape Cod National Seashore Fire Crew for an up close, but safe presentation and demonstration. The presentation will include what the fire crew does on the Cape and other locations. The Cape Cod National Seashore Fire Crew will burn an area and explain what, why, and how!!

Park in the lot behind Park Headquarters and meet at the Fire Cache and see our new fire station.

1:30 - 3:30 CLIMATE CHANGE “Monitoring Cape Cod's Changing Coastline and Managing our Essential Coastal Facilities -- a field presentation at Herring Cove bathhouse”
- Cape Cod National Seashore measures and studies coastal change to understand how ocean forces shape the beaches, marshes and bluffs that are the essential features of the "Great Beach". We map high tide shorelines twice yearly with GPS. With Graham Giese of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies we have been compiling a century-scale history of change both on and off shore. We are using aerial LIDAR (laser) sensors to map topography and bathymetry. Learn how this information has shed light on how bluff erosion rates vary with sea level rise, how the barrier beaches of Orleans/Chatham have become more unstable, how sand moves within the bayshore subsystems around Herring Cove and the Wellfleet "Islands" and how tides move through the Peaked Hill bars. Natural erosion, storm surges and wave runup are compounded by accelerated sea level rise -- our understanding of all these processes is necessary for sound coastal management at CACO.

Meet at Province Lands Visitor Center for a presentation then a short drive to Herring Cove Beach. Program reservation entitles you to free parking at Herring Cove Beach for the second half of the program.

Come for this presentation and stay for the Clam Bake!!

4:30 - 9:30 CLAM BAKE AT HERRING COVE BEACH - Do you like sand in your toes, a beautiful sunset, and an old fashion clam bake? This unforgettable dining experience will be held at Herring Cove Beach.

Drive to Herring Cove Beach Parking Lot - your Clam Bake ticket entitles you to free parking.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2011

8 - 12 GOLF at CHEQUESSETT YACHT AND COUNTRY CLUB, WELLFLEET
– Nothing is better than a Sunday morning on the green, well except a Sunday morning on Cape Cod’s green!! Join Larry French, Retired Maintenance and Janet Barricman, Fee Manager for a round of 18 holes.

Meet at Chequessett parking lot. Limited to first 24 people.

Cost of $30/per person includes cart. Meet at the club parking lot.

1 - 2:30 REDEDICATION OF OLD HARBOR LIFE SAVING STATION

- In 1872, the first federally constructed and staffed lifesaving stations emerged as part of the Department of Treasury. They became the U. S. Life Saving Service. In the 1870s, nine stations were built on Cape Cod: Race Point, Highlands, Peaked Hill Bars, Pamet, Cahoon's Hollow, Nauset, Orleans, Chatham, and Monomoy Point. Once as popular as the U. S. Cavalry, the lifesavers gradually disappeared as the stations were abandoned. Finally, in 1915, the U. S. Life Saving Service was incorporated into the newly formed U. S. Coast Guard, and the days of the Life Saving Service were over.

Old Harbor Life-Saving Station was built in Chatham in 1897. The station was operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, and its precursor the U.S. Life-Saving Service, until it was decommissioned in July 1944. The building was later obtained by the National Park Service, and in November 1977, it was moved by barge to Provincetown.

The building was extensively rehabilitated in 2009. Since then, Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore has raised over $109,000 to furnish the interior of the building to its 1900 appearance so visitors can more fully understand how the building functioned and how the men of the US Lifesaving Service lived. The official rededication of Old Harbor Life-Saving Station is a great time to view the work that has been done, see the new furnishings, and recognize the donors. The staff of Cape Cod National Seashore and Friends of Cape Cod National Seashore would be honored with your presence at this event!

Park at Race Point Beach Parking Lot.