Buzzards Bay Coalition

“Representative Gifford was always there to help advance the Coalition’s work in Wareham, whether it was developing state legislation to prevent oil spills, supporting acquisition of conservation lands for wildlife and hunting access, or securing state approval for the creation of the Onset Bay Center. Our hearts are with Mark and her entire family today.” - Mark Rasmussen, BBC President

Great news! Two of our Coalition staff members, Rachel Jakuba, PhD. our Vice President for Bay Science, and Senior Restoration Ecologist Sara Quintal, are attending the Restore America’s Estuaries Conference in Arlington, VA. They’ll be showcasing the innovative work being done on the Marsh Island salt marsh restoration project! 🌱🌊 #restoration #restorationprojects #buzzardsbaycoalition #RestoreAmerica

Like the waters off Maine, Buzzards Bay has seen a decline in eelgrass, but we’re taking action to support its recovery. In West Falmouth Harbor, the Coalition has been replacing conventional moorings with conservation moorings, which protect eelgrass from damage caused by chains scraping the seafloor. As we wrap up this important project, we’ll be sharing the final report soon!

Exciting update on the Mattapoisett Bogs Summer has brought us great vegetation growth and some beautiful wildflowers! Though the trails still remained closed we are excited to remain on schedule to reopen trails later this fall! Stay tuned for more on the Bogs!

What a fun-filled summer it has been at our Onset Bay Center! Last week, we wrapped up our 2024 Summer Youth Programs 🌞😎 We had an amazing time paddling, sailing, and exploring with all of you, and we can't wait to do it all again next summer! But don't worry—the fun doesn't stop just because summer has ended! Stay tuned for after-school programs for youth and teens, themed community events, and family programs throughout the year! Thank you all for a great summer with us at Buzzards Bay Coalition's Onset Bay Center!🌞🚣

🌿 This Week at Ocean View Farm! 🌿 Our team has been hard at work surveying the vibrant vegetation and animal life to help monitor and measure the health of our beautiful marsh ecosystem. Stay tuned for more updates! 🌱

This past weekend, we had the honor of welcoming the historic Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey back to the Onset Pier for the first time in 20 years! It was a spectacular addition to the Cape Verde Festival, and we were thrilled to host the incredible crew at the Onset Bay Center.

We are now seeing debris from the mid-July windmill blade failure off the coast of Nantucket wash ashore on our Cuttyhunk Island Reserves. We've also spotted floating pieces all the way into Buzzards Bay near the Cape Cod Canal while aboard the R/V Buzzards Baykeeper. This is absolutely unacceptable and Vineyard Wind - the company responsible - must clean it up. Vineyard Wind established a hotline for people to report observed debris so that their crews can clean it up. Help us make sure Vineyard Wind picks up their mess by calling in all observed debris. The Vineyard Wind Debris Reporting Hotline: 833-609-5768 We are strong supporters of offshore wind. Climate change is already destroying our Bay's vital salt marshes and warming water is making pollution cleanup more difficult. The development of large-scale, clean, renewable energy is critical if we are going to Save Buzzards Bay, and nothing is more capable of doing that in our region that offshore wind. But that doesn't mean Vineyard Wind (or any wind company) can litter our Bay and shores. They must do better to prevent this from happening again, and the first step is to clean up this mess right now!

🌿 Exciting News! 🌿 Our very own Restoration Ecologist, Sara Quintal, was featured on Channel 5 discussing the impacts of climate change. 🌍 She highlighted the incredible work being done at the Mattapoisett Bogs to help mitigate these effects. Check out the full story and learn more about our efforts by clicking the link below! ⬇️ #ClimateChange #Restoration #BuzzardsBayCoalition #Sustainability #MattapoisettBogs

BBC partners at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) designed an easy to build, low-cost robot intended for coastal water quality monitoring. It is called TideRider because, by controlling whether it is on the surface or the seafloor, TideRider opportunistically harness natural currents to move in a controlled way (e.g., toward a specific area of a harbor). This summer, WHOI engineers will be testing TideRiders equipped with dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity sensors to measure water quality around Onset Bay. The data will be compared with six sensors that BBC and the Woodwell Climate Research Center are putting out at docks around Onset Bay and to data collected by Baywatcher volunteers.