Related pages: Interactive map of marsh monitoring sites | Migrating salt marshes | Tidal Elevations and Datums in Buzzards Bay | Tidal Datums and the HTL | Interactive Tidal Datum Viewer

Salt marshes in Buzzards Bay provide a vital role by providing habitat, regulating water quality, and stabilizing coastlines. In recent years, many coastal towns have experienced the degradation or loss of their salt marshes. In order to better understand and halt this trend, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program and the Buzzards Bay Coalition, in partnership with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, are collaborating on a long-term study of salt marsh loss around Buzzards Bay.

Monitoring and tracking changes over many years within a dozen selected salt marshes will improve our understanding of the causes of marsh loss. In particular, we are focusing on how climate change, pollution, and changes in the abundance of certain crab species may be affecting our salt marshes. Using transects, which are defined paths our team will follow through the marsh on every visit, information will be collected on the height, abundance, and species of vegetation, as well what species of shellfish and crab live there. Elevations will also be taken as a means of monitoring how well area salt marshes are adapting to sea level rise. The monitoring program has been designed to minimize impacts and disturbance of the marsh study sites. The results of this work will help town officials and state and federal mangers develop possible mitigation strategies to protect and restore salt marshes.

Work being undertaken

Six activities are planned as part of this long-term salt marsh loss monitoring study:

1) We will install elevation survey benchmarks. The NEP is the lead on this task. These benchmarks will either be brass markers installed in boulders or in concrete bridge abutments or other structures, or they will be a stainless steel rod driven into the ground, surrounded by a concrete tube with a lid, flush to the ground;

2) Transect markers will be installed in the marsh. These consist of white PVC pipe or other markers. The markers will be reference points for transects to measure elevation and vegetation types within the marsh;

3) Along these marsh transects, we will monitor elevation, vegetation, and other features one or two times per year. The NEP with assistance from MMA students will undertake the elevation surveys. The Buzzards Bay Coalition will undertake the vegetation and fauna surveys. These annual surveys may continue for many years;

4) We will conduct a crab population survey periodically with traps to document the species of crabs common to each marsh and their abundance;

5) We will install sensors on a temporary staff in a tidal creek to document tidal elevation; and

6) Periodically, using volunteers, we will document the elevation of the High Tide Line during different tidal and weather conditions.

If you have questions or would like additional information about this study, please contact:  Joe Costa at (508) 291-3625 x11 or email joe.costa@mass.gov. More information about the project can be found at this Buzzards Bay Coalition post.

Update:

On October 11, Restore America’s Estuaries and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1.2 million in funding to six local partnerships in Massachusetts through the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Grants. Among the grants, the Buzzards Bay Coalition will receive $223,533 for a project to promote salt marsh resilience by supporting research to better understand causes and trends of marsh loss on Buzzards Bay and for pilot-scale restoration activities to preserve threatened marshes.

For more information, see the SNEP grant announcement.

See also this information page: Long-Term Buzzards Bay Salt Marsh Study – Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program

August 2019 QAPP describing methodology used by BBNEP

The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, a unit of Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, has to move from its current location, and so we are seeking to lease office space. This solicitation differs from a similar request made in late in 2018 in that it eliminates certain space requirements like a transaction window and water quality sample processing room and reduces the space needed.

Our search area includes the Towns of Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Wareham. The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance is conducting a solicitation on our behalf, and invites proposals to lease approximately 1,300 usable square feet of office space in the above-referenced search area for a term of ten years. Proposals must be submitted to:

Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
Office of Leasing and State Office Planning
One Ashburton Place
14^th Floor – Room 1411
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Proposals must be submitted by the deadline of May 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Proposals will be opened at that time.

The Bid RFP can be downloaded from commbuys.com. This link contains the phone number and email address of the DCAMM contact.  You may also email leasing.dcamm@state.ma.us or call 857-204-1355 to request a copy of the RFP, referencing Project Number 201921000.1, or call 857-204-1800. This public notice is available at masspublicnotices.org.

Please keep in mind that submission requirements include a floor plan that shows how the space will be built out to meet the bid specifications, and the costs of any needed modifications or remodeling need to be incorporated into the proposed rent.  The bid specifications include a minimum of one private office within the floor plan, but if the existing space is already further partitioned with additional rooms, that can be acceptable if other requirements are met.  Read the bid RFP at this link: commbuys.com.  Late proposals will not be considered.

The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) has been working with Buzzards Bay communities since the 1990s to map stormwater catch basins and discharge pipes. In 2016, the NEP collaborated with the non-profit Buzzards Bay Action Committee (BBAC) to form the Buzzards Bay Stormwater Collaborative, beginning a more systematic effort to map underground stormwater networks and monitor stormwater discharges. The initiative, funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Healthy Communities grant to the BBAC, consisted of five participating municipal public works departments (Dartmouth, Acushnet,Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, and Wareham) working with staff from the BBAC and NEP.

The Buzzards Bay Stormwater Collaborative is expanding in February 2019 thanks to a new partnership with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA). This new initiative, which is funded by a $160,000 award from the Buzzards Bay NEP using EPA Southeast New England Program grant funds, will add three additional municipalities (Westport, Marion, and Bourne) to the collaborative. Under the agreement, MMA will provide staff support and co-op students who will work with Buzzards Bay municipalities and the Buzzards Bay NEP. Students participating in MMA’s Environmental Monitoring program—including four part-time work-study students during the school year, five full time co-op students during the summer, and a full time coordinator—will join the team. In addition to funding, the Buzzards Bay NEP is providing supervision to the students, water quality test kits for the project, and contracts with local laboratories to test stormwater for bacteria and other contaminants that cannot be measured using field test kits. Professor Bill Hubbard, who is the instructor of two MMA Environmental Monitoring courses, is coordinating the effort for the Academy.

“Buzzards Bay municipalities are enthusiastic for this support,” said Joe Costa, Executive Director of the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program. “Mapping stormwater networks and monitoring discharges is a requirement for a new U.S. EPA stormwater permit that municipalities must comply with beginning in June 2019, and this partnership will help give these communities the expertise and staff support to get their work done.”

Francis J. Veale, Jr. Chair, Marine Science, Safety and Environmental Protection Department at MMA noted, “Students at Massachusetts Maritime Academy will be working with municipalities and the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program to analyze real world environmental issues. This partnership will further the regional knowledge of ecological risks for the Buzzards Bay watershed, while giving our students hands-on experience preparing them for their future careers.” William A. Hubbard, a Marine Ecologist in the Department further noted, “These internships are just what our students need to bolster their applied science skills. They will take pride in the contribution they make to bettering the ecological conditions of our Buzzards Bay estuary.” Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

For more information on past monitoring efforts, data reports, and maps visit http://stormwater.buzzardsbay.org/.

October 2019 update:

On October 11, Restore America’s Estuaries and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1.2 million in funding to six local partnerships in Massachusetts through the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Grants. Among the grants, The Massachusetts Maritime Academy received $176,581 to continue and expand the Buzzards Bay Stormwater Collaborative. The project will be integrated into a new MMA curriculum and students will work to support communities in stormwater compliance.

For more information, see the SNEP grant announcement.