WELLFLEET – Traffic on Province Lands Road will continue to be occasionally detoured to protect a small but threatened creature.
Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent George Price said the detour will be implemented from June through October on rainy nights to help protect the eastern spadefoot toad.
The spadefoot toad is listed as threatened by the state and uses shallow temporary ponds in the Province Lands for breeding and the surrounding uplands to feed, according to the Seashore.
They migrate to and from these ponds on rainy nights, especially when the water table is high and temperatures are above 48 degrees, Price said.
To lessen vehicle impacts on the toads, the park will occasionally close the road just north of the entrance to Herring Cove Beach to the intersection with Race Point Road.
Herring Cove Beach will remain accessible from Route 6 and Race Point Road will be unaffected, allowing continued access to Province Lands Visitor Center, Race Point Beach, Provincetown Airport, Race Point Ranger Station and the oversand corridor.
“Spadefoot toad migration is an increasingly rare natural phenomenon that still occurs at Cape Cod National Seashore,” said Price. “We are pleased that we have found a way to allow spadefoot toads to survive their trip to and from their breeding ponds, while still maintaining visitor access to Herring Cove and the Race Point area.”
