Wood Neck public beach and the contiguous Little Sippewissett Marsh became the focus of public concern following storm damage to the recreational beach, and swimming closures stemming from bacterial contamination. The Falmouth Conservation Commission responded with a scientific study so that the Town can develop the best management strategies to maintain an attractive, healthy public beach and maintain an intact coastal ecosystem. With funding from the Community Preservation Act, the Commission hired a coastal engineer to determine a sand budget for the system and a flushing study of the marsh. The results of this study (draft completed in September 2008), as well as long-term water monitoring results from the Buzzard's Bay Coalition, a three-day nutrient time-series study done in summer 2007 (organized by the Conservation Commission and conducted by trained local volunteers), and on-going studies by scientists at MBL, WHOI, and students from local schools, have been assessed with other relevant information about the Wood Neck Beach Coastal Complex. This information will be used by the Commission with input from the public to determine the best way to manage and protect these important resources for present and future use. Sippewissett Association members have been instrumental in several of these information-gathering efforts, and will continue to help the Town maintain healthy coastal areas.

For updates see "Woodneck Beach Study - Nutrient Results" in the Winter 2011 newsletter, "Woodneck Beach Study - Coliform Bacteria" in the Summer 2012 newsletter and "Tide and Management at Woodneck Beach" in the  Winter 2013 newsletter.

In 2003 the Sippewissett Association annual meeting approved a policy to oppose any action or behavior that obstructs legal access to the coast by foot along established rights of way. The Coastal Access Committee (CAC) was formed, reviewed coastal access points and reported on this in 2004. The 2012 annual meeting voted to reactivate the CAC. This committee will review and update if necessary the earlier results, then prioritize issues that require follow-up.

Phragmites australis (Common reed) is found in coastal marshes and wetlands. The invasive species grows densely and chokes out existing species, threatening the underlying ecosystem. An effort was started in 2008 by Sippewissett Place homeowners to treat the phragmites invasion at that end of Little Sippewissett marsh; this project has produced good results and has entered the maintenance phase.

Another project has been organized by Richard Payne with plans to treat phragmites in Wood Neck, Gunning and Flume ponds. For an update see "Phragmites Control: Update" in the Summer 2012 newsletter.

Marine aquaculture is the science and business of cultivating marine fish or shellfish under controlled conditions. Numerous aquaculture projects have been approved by other towns on Cape Cod; Falmouth has lagged substantially behind in this area. In 2006 Falmouth granted a permit for a 2-acre oyster farm at a location south of Quissett Harbor and Gansett Point which has been operating since. Several new applications for aquaculture projects to be located in Buzzards Bay off Sippewissett were submitted in 2009. Two projects off the coast of Sippewissett were approved by the Board of Selectmen in November, 2009. These projects are underway.

For an update see "Aquaculture Update" in the Winter 2012 newsletter.

Sippewissett is an area of abundant wildlife and natural beauty. Members of our Association take pleasure in this environment and are interested in seeing it maintained and protected. Their observations and activities are frequently reported in our newsletters. The comings and goings of several banded piping plovers have been followed with interest and were initially reported in the article ‘Winter in the Bahamas’ in the Winter 2012 newsletter. The most recent updates can be found in the Summer 2016 and Winter 2017 issues. Information about coyotes on Cape Cod can be found in ‘Mass Audubon on Coyotes’ in the Winter 2012 newsletter. The Winter 2013  newsletter includes an article about die-back of some oak trees along Sippewissett Road. The Summer 2015 issue includes an article about Sippewissett's river otters. A very informative history of the Peterson Farm is included in the Summer 2016 newsletter. A list of 'Notable and First Spring Sightings' appeared in the Summer 2017 newsletter.

The posted speed limit on Sippewissett Road is 25 miles per hour, but Sippewissett residents observe that cars on the road rarely adhere to that law. Higher speeds on our narrow, twisting roads are hazardous for bicyclists and pedestrians. The 25 MPH speed limit was adopted by the Board of Selectmen and represents the result of a study conducted in compliance with established traffic engineering practices where a minimum of 100 vehicles per hour are timed. 25 mph represents the 85th percentile of car speeds measured.

Periodically since October 2006 the Sippewissett Association has been in a dialogue with the Falmouth Police Department about this issue. The Police Department has monitored speeds and shown an enforcement presence during two time periods - January 24 - March 31, 2007 (average speed 29.7) , then summer 2007. The Board assured Police Sgt. Decosta, Falmouth's Traffic Safety Officer at that time, that the community would welcome the preventative effects of a patrol car presence and a reputation as a road with a significant chance of receiving speeding tickets.

More recently due to budget constraints the Police Department has been unable to offer any enforcement presence. Sippewissett Association arranged for a private police detail in August 2010 to focus on both speed and noise control on Sippewissett Rd.

In August 2017 a Traffic and Safety Committee was formed to bring new focus to these issues on Sippewissett Rd.

Visit the Falmouth Police Traffic Safety Program page for information about the town-wide approach to this issue.

The Sippewissett Association publishes newsletters, usually twice a year, which include updates about current issues and articles of general interest to Sippewissett residents. See the News page for recent newsletters.

SippOwisset Homeowners Defend Subdivision Plan - Open Space and Beach Access

SippOwisset is a 130 acre sub-division in the Gunning Point/Cape Codder area of Sippewissett whose original plan was established in 1897. In addition to 193 numbered, half-acre building sites, the plan included mapped roads, open space, and beach access, all of which are now threatened by a proposed project at the waterfront. SippOwisset landowners, including numerous Sippewissett Association members, feel when they purchased building lots they also bought into a plan--and threats to that plan are tantamount to threats to the community environment, lifestyle, and property values. At the center of the controversy, SippOwisset Homeowners have been fighting conversion to buildable status of an open-space parcel currently designated by the town as "undevelopable". Also at stake is the beach access asserted by the deeded beach rights conveyed in SippOwisset property deeds. The outcome of this case is of interest to ANY landowner with deeded beach rights, not just those in SippOwisset, and especially to homeowners in the several older Cape and Islands subdivisions, whose plan may be vulnerable to attack by developers.

For a recent update see "SippOwisset Pond Reservation Settlement Reached" in the Summer 2010 newsletter.

Buzzards Bay Coalition - Baywatchers Water Quality Sampling

The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a nonprofit organization "dedicated to the restoration, protection, and sustainable use and enjoyment of Buzzards Bay and its watershed - a 432 square mile area covering all of part of 17 towns in southeastern Massachusetts". With the help of volunteers the group monitors water quality at more than 150 sites throughout Buzzards Bay, in a program called "Baywatchers". A group of volunteer Baywatchers from the Sippewissett Association has been monitoring three sites in the Sippewissett area since 2000, Gunning Point Pond Little Sippewissett Marsh (Woodneck), and Flume Pond.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a nonprofit organization "dedicated to the restoration, protection, and sustainable use and enjoyment of Buzzards Bay and its watershed - a 432 square mile area covering all of part of 17 towns in southeastern Massachusetts". With the help of volunteers the group monitors water quality at more than 150 sites throughout Buzzards Bay, in a program called "Baywatchers". A group of volunteer Baywatchers from the Sippewissett Association has been monitoring three sites in the Sippewissett area since 2000, Gunning Point Pond Little Sippewissett Marsh (Woodneck), and Flume Pond.