Sandwich Natural Resources

03/06/2026

🌿 Celebrating Women’s History Month in Sandwich

In honor of Women’s History Month this March—and this year’s theme, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”—we’re highlighting remarkable women from Sandwich who have helped shape the community and environment we know today.

🌸 Women’s History Month Spotlight: Dr. Shirley Gale Cross (1916–2008)

Botanist, conservationist, and longtime Sandwich resident Dr. Shirley G. Cross devoted her life to studying and protecting the natural world. After earning her Ph.D. in botany from Radcliffe College, she settled in Sandwich, where she and her husband operated cranberry bogs in the Spring Hill area.

Dr. Cross was an early and active advocate for open space preservation in Sandwich. She helped secure a federal grant to purchase land at Sandy Neck and supported other conservation efforts including the town’s acquisition of Brady’s Island and the Holly Reservation. She also donated several parcels of her own land for preservation.

A founding member of the Thornton W. Burgess Society, Dr. Cross helped restore the historic Deacon Eldred House with the Sandwich Women’s Club, creating what was the Thornton W. Burgess Museum. She was also instrumental in developing the Green Briar Nature Center & Jam Kitchen. For more than 25 years, she designed, planted, and tended the beloved wildflower garden there—collecting seeds, growing plants, and organizing volunteers to help bring the garden to life.

Her legacy also lives on in Shirley’s Woods, a small woodland preserved by the Sandwich Conservation Trust through her bequest.

Through conservation, education, and community leadership, Dr. Cross helped ensure that Sandwich’s natural landscapes would be protected and appreciated for generations to come.

03/02/2026

Following the February 23, 2026 blizzard and declared state of emergency, the Town of Sandwich is allowing certain storm-related repairs under an Emergency Certification.

Permitted work includes:

*Dune re-nourishment (sand replacement)

*Coir envelope repair or installation

*Stair and deck repairs (may require building and/or Historic approval)

⚠️ An Emergency Certification must be issued before any work begins.

To request an Emergency Certification, property owners must submit the required documentation and fee to the Conservation Commission. For full details, required documents, and contact information, please visit the following link: https://sandwichmass.org/DocumentCenter/View/10895/Emergency-Certification-for-Work-Submission-Requirements--Blizzard-2026

02/27/2026

🚨❄️ Winter Storm Update #20 – February 27, 8:00 a.m. – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

Good morning, Sandwich,

With a lot of hard work, grit, and incredible support from partners and friends from inside and outside of Sandwich, we have made it to the end of a very long week together.

🔌 Power Restoration Update
We are at 18 power outages across town. We are working with Eversource to address remaining outages quickly and safely.

❄️🚜 Snow Removal Update ⚠️🔌
As of last night, a small number of subdivision roads had not yet been plowed due to power hazards, including downed/potentially live wires that made it unsafe for crews to operate. Our team identified these priority areas for Eversource crews, who worked overnight to resolve the hazards and make conditions safe for our teams to proceed.

With those issues now addressed, our DPW crews have moved in to plow the few remaining uncleared roads, making use of outside heavy equipment provided from across the state.

We appreciate everyone’s patience as we complete this final phase of cleanup and continue working to ensure safe travel throughout the community.

🏫 REMINDER: TOWN OPERATING STATUS – Friday, 2/27
• Town Hall Open: Town offices and facilities are OPEN for regular hours today.
• The Center for Active Living is OPEN for social and recreational use today. However, all scheduled programming is canceled.
• The Transfer Station is OPEN today.
• Sandwich Public Schools are CLOSED today.

📣 Next Update
We will share our next update at 12:00 PM.

02/27/2026

02/26/2026

🚨❄️ Winter Storm Update #17 – February 26, 12:00 p.m. – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

Good afternoon, Sandwich,

We have received a number of state resources, including heavy equipment, and our DPW and public safety teams are putting every piece of equipment to work.

🚛 Snow Removal Priorities

🏘️Subdivision Access:

-DPW crews are concentrating on improving access in subdivisions

-Focus areas today include Great Hills and Lakewood Hills

-2 additional plow trucks were dispatched to East Sandwich last night to address private road subdivisions

🏫Schools: Overnight work to clear school parking lots is continuing into today

🛣️Main Roads: 6 plow trucks actively widening main roads (1 ten-wheeler, 3 one-ton trucks, 2 three-quarter-ton trucks

🚶‍♂️Sidewalks: 2 bobcats assigned to sidewalk plowing

🌳 Tree Removal Progress

-132 total tree issues reported, and 75 cases have been addressed.
-57 remain outstanding, and 20 of those involve downed wires
-28 roads recently cleared of downed trees will be plowed today

We appreciate your continued patience as crews work methodically to improve access and safety across Town. We urge you to continue to exercise caution on the roadways. Please see our Emergency Management page for tips on winter weather safety: https://www.sandwichmass.org/1574/Emergency-Management

🚨 REMINDERS 🚨
🔋🏢 Center for Active Living – Warming & Charging Center 🏢
The Center for Active Living will be open today, 2/26, as a Warming and Charging Center for Sandwich residents.
🕘 Hours: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

🏛️ Town Operating Status and Closures
• Town offices and facilities including Town Hall are now open
• The Recreation Dept and Sandwich Hollows Golf Club are CLOSED today
• The Transfer Station is CLOSED today
• Sandwich Public Schools are CLOSED today, 2/26 and Friday, 2/27.

📣 Next Update
We will share our next update at 4:00 PM.

02/26/2026

🚨❄️ Winter Storm Update #15 – February 25, 8:00 p.m. – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

Good evening, Sandwich,

Before sharing our update, we want to take a moment to thank the entire Sandwich community for rallying together during an incredibly difficult week.

We couldn't possibly list everyone here, but here are a few highlights-- the Family Table Collaborative and World Central Kitchen have been generously providing meals for snow removal crews and Town employees working long hours in storm conditions. Local businesses have opened their doors to offer food, warmth, and charging stations. Countless individual residents have stepped up to help shovel out older adults and vulnerable neighbors. And residents have come out to express their appreciation to our hard-working DPW and public safety crews.

This is what community looks like — and we are incredibly proud of Sandwich.

🔌 Power Restoration Update – Sandwich
We are down to 268 residents (2.95%) without power, down from 50% reported yesterday morning. Thanks again to the many Eversource MA Eversource NH Eversource CT crews who traveled from near and far to work with our team to restore power here in Sandwich.

🚜 Snow Removal Progress Update 🌨️
We have 2–3 large plows and 2 loaders arriving tonight from less-affected communities across Massachusetts. These resources should allow us to make accelerated progress in the next 24 hours. This support was coordinated by our Emergency Operations team, working hand-in-hand with regional partners and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)

🚨 REMINDERS 🚨

🏫 Delays & Closures – Thursday, 2/26

• DELAYED OPENING FOR TOWN OFFICES: Town offices and facilities will open at 12:00 PM.
• The Sandwich Recreation Department and Sandwich Hollows Golf Club will be CLOSED.
• The Transfer Station will be CLOSED.
• Sandwich Public Schools will be CLOSED Thursday, 2/26 and Friday, 2/27.

🔋🏢 Center for Active Living – Warming & Charging Center 🏢🔋
The Center for Active Living will be open tomorrow, 2/26, as a Warming and Charging Center for Sandwich residents impacted by power outages.
🕘 Hours: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

📣 Next Update
We will share our next update at 8:00 AM tomorrow, 2/26.

02/25/2026

🚨❄️ Winter Storm Update #13 – February 25, 12:00 p.m. – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

Good afternoon, Sandwich,

We want to share an overview of the significant ongoing recovery efforts and public safety activity across town.

🚜 Snow Removal – #1 Priority: Side Roads

Our #1 operational priority right now is clearing side roads across town. Thank you for your patience and support for our dedicated DPW crew as they continue to contend with adverse conditions including downed trees and limbs, snow drifts, and ice.

All available resources are being directed toward this effort, including additional equipment and personnel arriving from across the state to reinforce our local crews who are out now making steady headway on the subdivisions.

We are actively reviewing social media comments and emails regarding unplowed roads and flagging locations for our snow removal teams. However, the most effective way to report road conditions is:

📞 Department of Public Works: (508) 833-8002
📱 Sandwich311 app: https://sandwichma.qscend.com/311

Reporting directly through these channels ensures your concern is properly logged and routed to crews in the field.

🔌 Power Update

There are currently approximately 700 homes without power in Sandwich.

The Town continues working closely with Eversource on priority restoration areas. Crews remain focused on stabilizing and restoring remaining outages as quickly and safely as possible.

🚨 Emergency Communications Activity

Between Sunday at 6:00 PM and this morning at 9:00 AM:

• Sandwich Emergency Communications answered 145 911 calls
• 927 business line calls were received
• The Police Department documented 178 calls for service, with several calls managed through triage
• The Fire Department was dispatched to 135 calls for service

These numbers reflect the extraordinary demand on our public safety teams. We are incredibly grateful for the professionalism and dedication of our Fire and Police Departments and emergency management team.

🏢 Warming Center Open at Sandwich Center for Active Living: 9:00 AM-7:00 PM

The Center for Active Living is currently open as a warming shelter for residents in need of heat and charging access.

📣 Next Update
We will share our next update at 4:00 PM and hope to share information on any closures at that time.

02/25/2026

🚨❄️ Winter Storm Update #12 – February 25, 8:00 a.m. – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

Good morning, Sandwich,

We're facing another cold day today with some light precipitation expected. Please continue to exercise extreme caution on the roadways. While the state travel ban has been lifted, we strongly recommend staying home if you are able while crews continue their work. Thank you for your patience and support-- we are in this together!

🔌 POWER UPDATE

The Town has a dedicated Eversource liaison working with us again today to coordinate restoration efforts. Overnight, additional outages brought us back up to 7% without power, which is to be expected as the system stabilizes following historic damage. We have identified a list of grid priorities this morning and will continue working with the 21 Eversource line crews on the ground in Sandwich today to reach full power restoration across the town as soon as possible.

🚜 SNOW REMOVAL AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Our Department of Public Works crew continued to make progress on snow removal efforts in the subdivisions overnight. The Massachusetts National Guard will continue to support our DPW and public safety crews today-- their personnel and heavy equipment have been an incredible asset, responding to more than 40 calls alongside local crews yesterday. We have requested additional outside resources to accelerate snow removal efforts and provide relief to our crews who have been working long hours day and night in incredibly challenging conditions.

🏢 WARMING CENTER AND REGIONAL SHELTERS

The Center for Active Living will open as a warming center at 9:00 AM today. The center will be open as a place to warm up and charge devices, but will not be open for recreational use.

The closest regional emergency shelters are located at Barnstable Intermediate School, Dennis-Yarmouth High School, and Cape Cod Regional Technical School. The latest information on shelter and warming center hours across the Cape can be found here: https://www.capecod.gov/department/regional-emergency-planning-committee/sheltering/regional-shelter-map/

If you require emergency transportation to a shelter, please contact:
📞Sandwich Police Department- (508) 888-1212
📞Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA)- (508) 385-1430, Option 2

📣 Next Update
We will share our next update at 12:00 PM.

02/24/2026

🚨❄️Important Update on Shelters and Warming Centers – February 24 – Town of Sandwich❄️🚨

After further evaluation of current road conditions, the Town will NOT open the Center for Active Living for use as a warming center at this time. Roadways across Sandwich remain dangerous, and it is not safe to place more drivers on the roadways. Town resources are dedicated to opening roadways and supporting Eversource's power restoration efforts.

At this time, the recommendation remains to shelter in place.

We will continue to evaluate conditions and provide updates.

🚨 Travel Ban Still in Effect
The state travel ban remains in effect in Barnstable County due to hazardous road conditions. Please stay off the roads unless you are facing an emergency.

🏫 Emergency Shelter Information

For residents in an emergency situation who cannot safely remain at home:

The Barnstable Intermediate School at 895 Falmouth Rd in Hyannis is open as a regional shelter.

Additional information about regional shelters can be found here: https://shorturl.at/hfl9D

If you must go to a shelter:
• Bring medications and essential personal items
• Bring necessary medical equipment
• Bring supplies for children and pets
• Caregivers should accompany those they assist

🚔 Emergency Transportation
If you are in an emergency situation and require transportation to the regional shelter, please call the Sandwich Police Department at 508-888-1212

We understand how difficult these conditions are. Your safety is our first priority.