Year: 2018

Marine Defenders Profiles Roseate Tern Restoration in Buzzards Bay

Posted on by Joe Costa

A video and article posted by Micah Fink on the Marine Defenders website titled “Defending the Roseate Terns of Ram Island,” profiles the work of state wildlife biologist Carolyn Mostello and the efforts of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife’s Buzzards Bay Tern Restoration Project.  The piece describes efforts to protect a nesting colony of Roseate Terns and restore habitat on Ram Island (Mattapoisett) in the aftermath of the 2003 Bouchard 120 oil spill in Buzzards Bay. A Mass Wildlife posting describes similar restoration efforts on Bird Island (Marion), another Roseate nesting colony site in Buzzards Bay. Roseates are a U.S. Endangered species, and Buzzards Bay nesting colonies account for more than half of the breeding pairs in the U.S. You can also learn more about Roseate Terns at our Roseate Terns and Piping Plovers page.

  • Defending the Roseate Terns of Ram Island. Photo courtesy of Marine Defenders.

Funding for Second Round of Municipal Grants

Posted on by Joe Costa
The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program is seeking a second round of proposals for the Buzzards Bay Watershed Municipal Mini-Grant Program. $130,418 in funding is available for this grant round. Projects must implement a recommendation(s) in the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to protect and restore water quality and living resources in Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed. Eligible projects include stormwater remediation designs for discharges affecting marine waters, wetland/open space/habitat acquisition, migratory fish passage restoration, construction of boat pumpout facilities, and many other activities that support the management plan. A 33 percent match of requested funding is required, and only municipalities are eligible to apply. For more information, to view the RFR, and download required forms, see the COMMBUYS website. Proposals are due by October 1.

Buzzards Bay NEP awards two grants totaling $48,920

Posted on by Joe Costa

On June 7, the Buzzards Bay NEP awarded two grants totaling $48,920 in federal grant awards for habitat restoration and water quality protection projects in Buzzards Bay. These two grants will help the towns of Gosnold and Dartmouth to better manage boat waste and to investigate causes of salt marsh degradation. The grants are being matched by $43,950 in municipal and private contributions that will support the water quality protection efforts and restoration of important habitat.

The Town of Gosnold will receive $13,920 to purchase a stationary, self-service boat waste pumpout unit for the Cuttyhunk Vessel Pumpout Station. The pumpout, to be operated and maintained by the Town’s partner, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, will be made available at no cost to recreational boaters. It will be located at the dock entrance to Cuttyhunk Harbor and available seasonally from Memorial Day to mid-September. Boat sewage may contain bacteria and viruses, nutrients and chemicals that can be harmful to water quality and public health. With the nearest boat waste pumpout facility more than nine miles away, this project provides the opportunity to prevent the discharge of raw sewage into Cuttyhunk Harbor and Buzzards Bay by providing pumpout options to the thousands of summer boaters in Cuttyhunk.

The Town of Dartmouth will receive $35,000 to perform a restoration study to determine the causes of deterioration in the 16.6-acre Cow Yards salt marsh, located at the mouth of the Little River in Dartmouth. The salt marsh, owned and permanently protected by the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, is experiencing an extensive loss of vegetation and subsidence of the marsh surface. The Town will hire an engineering firm to assess existing conditions and hydrology within the salt marsh, identify restoration recommendations and evaluate feasibility of implementing the recommendations.

Ensuring adequate boat waste pump-out facilities in Buzzards Bay is a priority for the Buzzards Bay NEP and a goal of the the Buzzards Bay CCMP. The Dartmouth project is also very timely as we have been receiving reports of die offs in other salt marshes around Buzzards Bay.  More information about the grants can be found at this mass.gov link.

Information about past grants awarded by the Buzzards Bay NEP can be found on this interactive map. Information about salt marsh loss in Buzzards Bay can be found in this post: https://buzzardsbay.org/reports-salt-marsh-loss-buzzards-bay/.

Reports of salt marsh loss in Buzzards Bay