Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program

Home    BBNEP Info    Town Information    Pollution    Living Resources    Watershed Info    Enjoy Buzzards Bay    Technical Info    Special Topics

News, Features, and Information for Buzzards Bay and the NEP

Please review our Regional Open Space Plan and Action Plan

We are updating our Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for Buzzards Bay, and we need your help. Our landmark management plan was written in 1991, and needs to be updated. This original plan was a great success. More than 60% of the recommendations were achieved, and substantial progress was made on many others. The adoption of the CCMP in 1992 led to many new initiatives, especially at the state and local level of government. Nonetheless it is clear that this management plan must be updated. Not only have new issues arisen in the environmental protection landscape, but new laws, regulations, and agency programs have been established that make the need for this update clear.

We are now developing a new management plan that will include new goals, objectives, and recommendations to meet the environmental needs of Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed into the next decade and beyond. This new document will also meet the requirements for an EEA-approved Watershed Action Plan, which will enable new funding opportunities through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Please Read and comment upon our new Protecting Open Space Action Plan for Buzzards Bay, and one its its supporting documents, our draft Regional Open Space Plan.

AD Makepeace submits plans for Tihonet Mixed Use Development

Planned future of 6,000 acres described

AD Makepeace has submitted plans to the state outlining potential development plans for 6,000 acres of land holdings in the Towns of Wareham, Carver and Plymouth. The development plans, stated to be at the 10% design stage, outline mixed use residential, village scale retail, light industrial, manufacturing, research and development, office, warehouse, medical office, retail space, a hotel, and over 1,850 residential units. Only a portion of the 6,000 acres will be developed. A considerable amount of the 6,000 acres will either remain as cranberry bogs, and some land will be set aside as open space. The state's MEPA office will hold an informational meeting on August 12 at the Wareham Town Hall Cafeteria at 1:30 PM. More information about the project is on our Town of Wareham page. For several years, at the request of the Board of Selectmen, the Buzzards Bay NEP has been providing technical assistance to the town on strategies to reduce and manage nitrogen discharges from development that have been degrading Wareham's coastal waters.

Summer 2008 Municipal Grant Funds Available

The Buzzards Bay NEP, through Energy and Environmental Affairs, has made available $135,000 in federal funds, plus an anticipated $50,000 in state funds, to assist interested Buzzards Bay watershed municipalities implement recommendations contained in the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Go to our funding page for more information.

Coalition for Buzzards Bay and DMF observe "Rusty Tide" again in Buzzards Bay

For the third summer in a row, the Coalition for Buzzards Bay volunteers, and state Division of Marine fisheries biologists have been observing distinctly red or rusty colored water in the northern portions of Buzzards Bay resulting from a bloom of the Dinoflagellate algae, Cochlodinium. This year the algae bloomed three weeks earlier than the other years. Prior to 2005, blooms of this algae had not been reported in Buzzards Bay. Go to or Red Tide page to learn more.



Our new Draft Protecting Wetlands and Coastal Habitat Action Plan (#9) is ready for review and feedback. We have set up a feedback form to allow you to comment and rate as many or as few recommendations as you like. Go to our New CCMP Protecting Wetlands and Coastal Habitat Action Plan to learn more, and to submit your comments and suggestions.

1980s Historical Eelgrass GIS Coverage Posted

On our eelgrass page we have posted links to download GIS data showing the distribution of eelgrass mapped in Buzzards Bay during the 1980s. In most of Buzzards Bay, eelgrass reached it post-1930s wasting disease peak abundance in this decade. In the coming weeks we plan on disturbing new GIS coverages, maps, and georeferenced aerial photographs showing eelgrass abundance in the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s for selected parts of Buzzards Bay.

Massachusetts Estuaries Project reports for Buzzards Bay

Reports for West Falmouth Harbor and Phinneys Harbor / Back River complex were released during this past year. Later this fall, DEP will release New Bedford Harbor, Wareham River, and the Slocums River / Little River estuary complex. We will post links and highlights as they become available.

Hot Topic: Wind Farms Proposed for Buzzards Bay

Looking for information about the South Coast Offshore Wind Project? Read about meetings, and the information we posted about a similar 2002 proposal for Buzzards Bay that explains many of the regulatory and environmental issues that would need to be addressed for siting wind turbines in Buzzards Bay on our Wind Farms page. Have you noticed a windmill to the south as you have crossed the Bourne Bridge? We have a photo of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy wind turbine that began operation in 2006, as well as information on the water turbines proposed for Vineyard Sound.

Other Popular Pages and Downloads

WETLAND LOSS MAPS available for viewing.
We have updated our wetland loss page to include new maps we produced based on DEP's wetland change maps sent to Buzzards Bay municipalities in 2004. Click the link to read more.

Bouchard No. 120 Oil Spill in Buzzards Bay
On April 27, 2003, an oil barge, carrying 4.1 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, spilled an estimated 98,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay, the second largest spill in the bay's history. More than 93 miles of coastline were affected, and hundreds of birds killed. Click the link above to see recent cleanup summary reports. Other popular pages and links include our page US Coast Guard: 98,000 gallons best estimate of oil spilled, the New Bedford Standard Times Op Ed article on how the Buzzards Bay NEP helped in this determination, and our Oil Spill Legislation page.

Have you confused us with another Buzzards Bay organization?

In the 1980s, the Buzzards Bay NEP had a "Citizen Advisory Committee" or CAC that was part of the program and was helping with the evaluation of pollution and identification of management options to protect and restore Buzzards Bay. This CAC broke off from the Buzzards Bay NEP and eventually became two independent, not-for-profit organizations. The first organization called itself The Coalition for Buzzards Bay. It was a '501(c)3' educational and outreach a citizen-based group. The second became the Buzzards Bay Action Committee, a non-profit organization composed of municipal officials, that has become more involved with state, local, and federal legislative and regulatory issues. Today, both organizations are on the Buzzards Bay NEP's Steering Committee, and both have adopted as one of their major goals, the implementation of recommendations contained in the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.

Other Buzzards Bay Organizations

Website of the citizen's group, The Coalition for Buzzards Bay.

Info on the municipal official group, the Buzzards Bay Action Committee.

The views or information contained here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the US EPA.

---