The discovery of a vernal pool on a piece of land where school officials want to build solar panels is stymieing the project.
Vernal pools, also known as spring pools, are shallow depressions in the ground that typically have water for only a portion of the year. They can be a breeding ground for salamanders and frogs, and if the breeding ground is deemed significant than it can prevent construction.
Local, regional, state, and federal government officials afraid that supporters of hunting sharks and seals would dominate the discussion have kept meetings on Cape Cod's shark problem closed to the public.
"The public and the media have been banned from meetings of the regional shark working group composed of town employees, state shark scientists and environmental police, and members of the private nonprofit Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Meetings between town managers and administrators and officials from the Cape Cod National Seashore also have been closed," reports The Cape Cod Times.
