Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program

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

Buzzards Bay NEP Spring 2010 municipal grants to be announced in August

As part of the Buzzards Bay NEP's work plan for the coming fiscal year, in April, the Buzzards Bay NEP posted a Request for Responses (RFR, a request for proposals) as part of our municipal grant program. The RFR closed on June 2nd, but is still posted on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Comm-Pass.com system. A total of $282,500 of federal funds are available. Awards are expected to be announced in August and posted on our BBNEP funding page.

John Rockwell marks 20 years of wetland delineation training.

Since 1989, Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program Wetland Specialist, John Rockwell, has been training Conservation Commission members on how to delineate wetlands in cooperation with the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, MACC. Go to this Wetland Delineation page for a long list of great links that cover just about all you need to know about performing and reviewing wetland delineations in Massachusetts.

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Google Earth Maps of new FEMA flood zones

FEMA has posted new digital flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) for Buzzards Bay. We have posted important links, as well as a useful Google Earth file we created on our FEMA information page, to help residents better understand areas subject to storm flow. We have also obtained new LIDAR data from FEMA which we used to prepare this 15-foot Marion elevation zone map for the Marion Conservation Commission.

BBNEP updates Marion Buildout Analysis

At the request of the Town of Marion, the Buzzards Bay Program updated its buildout analysis for the town of Marion. Read the Marion 2009 Buildout Report for the results and an explanation of the methodology.

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

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.

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.

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

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