MassBays Newsletter

Fall 2024 (Vol 21, No 3)

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MassBays Fall Newsletter 2024

View of Winthrop Beach where the ocean has five wave breakers known as the “Five Sisters” offshore to protect nearby neighborhoods from the large swells that occur during storms.

MassBays & Partners Receive FY24 Exchange Network grant!

MassBays is thrilled to collaborate on an Exchange Network project titled Improving New England Waters by Developing Data Tools and Building Regional Collaboration. MassBays will work with scientists from Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program to enhance and build upon MassWateR, a highly successful R-based tool that MassBays developed with a FY21 Exchange Network grant. MassWateR is used by nongovernmental water monitoring programs across Massachusetts to streamline quality control, analysis, and sharing of discrete surface water quality data.


The new project will expand functionality of the tool to increase its utility across New England, and will develop an alternative user interface (a “ShinyApp”) to accommodate users that prefer to not work directly within R. In addition, the project will leverage existing tools to improve quality control reporting and WQX data upload functionality for continuous water quality data. The project will address a known need across New England: to build technical capacity and standardization for sharing high quality data that can be used by decision-makers like state Departments of Environmental Protection, EPA, and others. Through a strong regional partnership and a widespread training and support strategy, the reach of the project will be extensive and the benefits long-lasting.

USGS scientist preparing to deploy the multisensory system on the Beverly Pier at the mouth of the Danvers River (2024).

Getting Data Round the Clock


In August 2024, MassBays and USGS partners deployed the first of a series of water quality sensors to track changes in conditions by collecting continuous data. The data will be used to address critical environmental issues in embayments within MassBays. Based on input from the five Regional Coordinators which serve as the voice of the communities within their region, a sensor will be placed within each region. The 2025 season will see the deployment of temperature, DO, salinity, turbidity, pH and pCO2 sensors in Danvers, in the Merrimack River, and in Duxbury-Kingston-Plymouth bays. Others will follow in 2026. Data will be livestreamed on the MassBays website. Results will allow MassBays to report on the State of the Bays as well as provide a picture of local coastal acidification conditions, an issue of increasing concern among scientists, the fishing industry and decision makers. 

Reports from the Field

Salem’s Winter Island Park Coastal Bank Stabilization: parking lot edge in the distance historic Fort Pickering  

Salem Sound Coastwatch Partners on Three CZM Coastal Resilience Grants


Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW), MassBays' Lower North Shore Regional Service Provider, is pleased to announce that the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) awarded phase two of Salem’s Winter Island Park Pathway and Bank Restoration Project. This two-year project will evaluate options to stabilize the eroding coastal bank and manage public access around Winter Island Park. The project will identify and assess nature-based solutions and other feasible alternatives for bank stabilization and shoreline restoration. Considering this site’s unique historical significance, another aspect of the project will inform the preservation of vulnerable archaeological assets. Public outreach will be a prominent component of the project, which aims to enhance community understanding of the impacts of coastal storms and sea level rise and reduce human impact on the eroding coastal banks. Salem Sound Coastwatch will continue to foster partnerships with park visitors by hosting volunteer events to remove invasive species and developing a digital StoryMap to keep community members informed. 

 

In addition to the Winter Island Park project, Salem Sound Coastwatch is partnering with local municipalities on two other CZM Coastal Resilience Grants: Marblehead’s State Street Landing and Harbormaster’s – Tucker’s Wharf Resilience Project and Salem’s Resilient Together: Collins Cove Park Neighborhood.



Salem Sound Coastwatch



Photo left: Sediment and erosion control “socks” are placed around the limit of work at Scargo Landing before construction activities can begin. Photo right: The Ecosystem Restoration Program 2024 field team completed a vegetation and elevation survey at the restored Sesuit Creek saltmarsh at the end of the summer.

Restoring Flow in Dennis, MA: Multiple Projects Aim to Improve Local Hydrology


The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), MassBays' Cape Cod Regional Service Provider, is actively working to revitalize local waterways.


In Dennis, MA, a series of projects centered around the Sesuit Creek system are underway to enhance water flow and protect water quality. Construction on two sites at Scargo Lake, part of the Cape Cod Boat Ramp Stormwater Project, is scheduled to begin this month. This initiative, spearheaded by APCC in partnership with the town of Dennis and Horsley Witten Group, aims to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality in Scargo Lake.


In addition the Town of Dennis, MA, is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to replace two culverts at the intersection of Route 6A and Sesuit Creek. This project aims to improve fish passage by ensuring adequate openings for aquatic species to migrate between the downstream marsh and the upstream freshwater habitat of Scargo Lake.


In 2008, the Sesuit Creek salt marsh in Dennis, Ma., was restored to improve tidal flow. Since then, the marsh has shown signs of recovery, with vegetation growth and sedimentation gradually increasing. APCC has been monitoring the progress and completed a pilot planting study to support increased revegetation in the restored marsh.


Read the full article here.

Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network Meeting


The MassBays Metro Boston region held its Fall 2024 Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network (BHEN) meeting, “Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Monitoring”, on November 19, 2024, in downtown Boston. The meeting featured presentations by Jennifer Ryan (MA Department of Fish and Game) about setting biodiversity goals in Massachusetts, and by Lucy Lockwood (UMass Boston) and Marc Albert (Natural Resource Partnerships for the National Parks of Boston/National Park Service) about the recent development of an intertidal biodiversity monitoring framework for the Boston Harbor Islands (Report by Staudinger & Albert, 2023). The talks were followed by group discussion of resources surrounding field methods, new monitoring tools, and program staffing.


Contact Dr. Diana Chin, the MassBays Metro Boston Regional Coordinator, if you are interested in pdf copies of presentation slides from the Fall 2024 BHEN meeting or have other questions about BHEN. Keep up with announcements for the next biannual BHEN meeting, field trips, and other resources and opportunities in the Metro Boston region by signing up for the monthly BHEN e-newsletter here

Good News and Bad News in the 2024 Eelgrass Survery Results.


Since 2017, MassBays' South Shore Regional Service Provider, the North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA), MassBays, MA DMF, and MA DEP have launched a targeted sampling program to evaluate eelgrass health and contributing factors in the decline. Each August, data are collected using a drop camera to measure eelgrass percent cover at 119 stations throughout Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth bays.


The 2024 eelgrass survey in the bays was highly successful with sampling conducted at all 119 target sites. The sampling took place across eight survey events over a three week period between July 23rd and August 13th. The work was conducted by staff, interns, and volunteers.


There was some good news and some bad news in the 2024 results. The good news was a slight increase observed in eelgrass since last year. 52 of the 119 stations had eelgrass. Compared to 2023, 41 individual sites had an increase in eelgrass coverage, 17 sites had a decrease, and 61 sites remained the same.


The bad news is that the longer-term trend still appears to be negative. While there was still a mix of gains and losses across this five year span, the losses were much more substantial. The next step is to look at changes over the past 7 years of data in combination with water quality data collected in 2023 - 2024.


Read the full article here.

Piloting New Technology for Saltmarsh Monitoring 

This summer, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission - MassBays' Upper North Shore Regional Service Provider, was awarded funding through the MassBays Healthy Estuary Grant to integrate new technology into long-term saltmarsh monitoring programs. Using drone technology, aerial imagery and LiDAR data will be used to map and compare erosion along the marsh edge, measure the extent and change of wrack deposition, and assess conditions to determine optimal eelgrass habitat for future restoration.

 

MVPC kicked off initial flights this fall! MassBays Upper North Shore Regional Coordinator Hanna Mogensen (MVPC), along with the past RC, Peter Phippen, collaborator Geof Walker, and MVPC GIS Technician and Drone Pilot Sarah Reny set up the drone and captured images and data from various locations across the Great Marsh in Salisbury, Ipswich, and Essex. The birds eye view provided a unique perspective of the Great Marsh, differing drastically from the land-based perspective the field team has historically used to capture data for these long-term projects. The team will return to the sites in the spring to collect more data and begin image analysis.

 

MVPC is eager to discover the potential uses and integration of drone technology into long-term salt marsh monitoring and restoration projects. Through collaborating with local communities and partners MVPC is eager to share findings and work to advance regional conservation priorities for the Great Marsh and beyond.  

Regional Events

Underwater in Salem Sound

Marblehead, Ma


2025 Underwater in Salem Sound Lecture Series at Marblehead's Abbot Library or virtually via Zoom. All lectures are free and open to the public.  

January 15, February 19, March 19, and April 16


Learn more at https://salemsound.org/events-calendar/

North and South Rivers Water Association


Know Your Local Waters on Tuesday, December 3 at 1:00pm with Kezia Bacon and Brian Taylor, NSRWA: 

– Marshfield’s Historic Waterways – slideshow presentation at Marshfield Senior Center


Birding in a Changing Climate: The North River

The 3rd Thursday of each month from 8:30-10:30 am - November 21, and December 19


Twilight Solstice Walk at Stetson Meadows: Saturday, December 21 from 4:00-5:30pm


New Years Day Walk at Furnace Brook Watershed Conservaton Area in Marshfield on January 1, 2025 at 1:00pm


NSWRA Event page here.

NSRWA local waters
NSRWA Twilight Walk

SAVE THE DATE!

The 2025 Gulf of Maine Research & Monitoring Symposium will bring together monitoring program coordinators and researchers, data-users and policymakers across the Gulf of Maine from Massachusetts to the Canadian Maritimes.


Gulf of Maine Research & Monitoring Symposium April 8-9, 2025

Northern Essex Community College

100 Elliot Street, Haverhill, MA


Registration will open in January 2025.

More info on MassBays here.

Take a walk this weekend at Scituate’s Bates Lane Conservation Area. This 335-acre wooded property offers seven trails with options for shorter or longer hikes. For more information go to North and South Rivers Watershed Association website here.

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