|
|
|
|
|
|
News from the Bays
Summer 2014
|
|
MassBays & CZM Funded to Study Tide Gates
Poorly managed, mismanaged, and abandoned tide gates can adversely affect both coastal ecosystems and neighboring infrastructure. Efforts to improve the situation are hindered by lack of up-to-date information about how many tidegates there are and their location, condition and operating regime (if any).
Beginning this October, MassBays and the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) will lead an effort to document the location and condition of tide gates within the 47 coastal embayments of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. The resulting inv entory will provide the basis for determining potential and existing impact on salt marsh systems and initiate, inform, and prioritize management for both ecological benefit and hazard mitigation. Funding for this project came through a NOAA competitive grant program available to state Coastal Programs. (Photo: Tide gate on Mill Pond, Gloucester; Taken by: B. Warren)
|
|
Tour the Great Marsh with your Phone (Sarah Stanley)
 MassBays is pleased to announce the opening of The Great Marsh Tour. MassBays' post-graduate intern, Josh Wrigley, in partnership with the Merrimack Valley Planning Council and Staddles Production received funding from the Essex National Heritage Commission to install over 75 Quick Response (QR) coded signs located in Gloucester, Essex, Ipswich, Rowley, Newburybort, Amesbury, and Salisbury (map showing locations here). Using any one of several free smart phone applications, visitors can access short videos describing the environmental and cultural importance of New England's largest continuous salt marsh. Topics include invasive species, herring, and sea level rise. Learn more in a recent Boston Globe article. (Photos: S. Stanley)
|
|
Helping Communities Build Resiliency
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), MassBays' Cape Cod regional coordinator, is a partner on coastal resiliency grants recently awarded to the towns of Provincetown and Brewster by the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM).
Provincetown will develop a beach nourishment plan based on the results of a sediment budget study and public input. APCC will assist with outreach and project management. Other partners include the Cape Cod Commission, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.
Brewster will evaluate options for managed retreat from nine town landings on Cape Cod Bay. This project builds on a 2011 project by the Town to retreat from Paines Creek Beach. APCC will monitor coastal erosion using photo documentation and will document natural communities. (Photo: MA CZM)
|
|
GoMC Awards for South Shore Partners
In June, two MassBays' partners were honored at a ceremony in Nova Scotia by the Gulf of Maine Council (GoMC) for their hard work protecting the region's estuarine resources. For leading the restoration, protection, and enhancement of ecological habitats, MassBays South Shore regional partner, the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, was presented with a Visionary Award. The Town of Plymouth's Department of Marine & Environmental Resources received the prestigious Sustainable Communities award for their work restoring fish passage and in-stream and wetland habitat. Read the full list of awards. (Photo: P. Vella)
|
|
Partnering for Green Crab Monitoring
 This summer, MassBays partnered with the New England Aquarium and the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) to collect information about the invasive European green crab at six sites from Connecticut to Maine. Middle school campers in the EPA-funded Summer on the Marsh program monitor and collect data about salt marsh habitats. This year, campers are also collecting information about green crabs. The sampling effort connects young students to salt marsh systems, educates about the potential impacts of invasive species, and gives them an opportunity to work alongside scientists to conduct monitoring. We look forward to seeing the data!
Separately, the New England Aquarium's live blue Ambassador program is also helping with green crab monitoring. At a July green crab sampling event in Essex Bay in the Great Marsh, the teen-aged volunteers counted, sexed, and measured more than 4,500 green crabs from 24 traps. This data will inform eelgrass restoration efforts in Essex Bay and Plum Island Sound. Learn more in recent press from the Boston Globe. (Photos: L. Engler)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
