Ninety-five acres of forest and salt marsh along Fairhaven’s Nasketucket Bay, a subembayment of Buzzards Bay, have been permanently protected thanks to the efforts of The Coalition for Buzzards Bay. After five years of negotiations and fundraising, the Coalition, along with the Fairhaven-Acushnet Land Preservation Trust (FALPT), closed the deal on the Nulands Neck Conservation Project. The Nulands Neck parcel, which contains nearly 2,000 feet of direct water frontage, is home to two rare plant species and serves as a feeding ground for a host of nesting and migrating waterfowl including the least tern, listed as “threatened” under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. It is estimated that, if developed, the property could have been subdivided under local zoning laws into 40 or more residential homes...Read more here

Photo above courtesy of Joseph R. Melanson, skypic.com

An important step towards protecting Buzzards Bay was achieved following a recent Massachusetts Superior Court ruling that the West Branch of the Westport River is indeed a river. The long-awaited ruling was issued December 23, 2005 by Judge John C. Cratsley and supports an earlier decision by the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The Superior Court’s decision is in response to a five-year attempt by Kathleen Kamionek of Westport to get her Westport land designated as oceanfront property. Kamionek sought the ocean designation because it allows more latitude for building by the waterfront...Read more here

Photo caption: Aerial view of the West Branch of the Westport River. Red line denotes the river mouth (courtesy of the Massachusetts DEP).

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay recently assisted the Rochester Land Trust (RLT) in protecting over thirteen acres of forest and wetlands, including a state-certified vernal pool, on Marion Road in Rochester. A conservation restriction was donated to the RLT by landowners Maureen and Stephen Perry, enabling the property to be preserved in perpetuity. The Conservation Restriction will be co-held by the Coalition. Doggett Brook, a tributary of the Sippican River, runs along the entire eastern border of the Sperry’s property. “Protection of this tract will buffer that length of the Brook from runoff or other upland impacts,” says Allen Decker, Coalition Land Protection Director...Read more here

Photo caption: The Sperry property in Rochester includes over thirteen acres of forest and wetlands, including a state-certified vernal pool. (Photo courtesy of the Rochester Land Trust).

This winter and spring, The Coalition for Buzzards Bay and the Marion Institute are co-sponsoring a series of lectures and panel discussions titled Global Warming: What Can I Do? The series kicks off February 15 with a keynote address and panel discussion led by Greg Watson, Vice President, Sustainable Development & Renewable Energy, MassTech Collaborative.

We have invited a variety of experts and industry representatives to join us as we seek to more fully understand not only the impending threat of climate change but what we in southeastern Massachusetts can do to alter the course. Our aim is to construct an answer for future generations when they ask: “What did you do when you learned of this impending human crisis?”

Click [here] for more information and to view the lecture schedule.

Mark your calendars for this year's Celebrate Buzzards Bay, set to take place on Saturday, July 15, 2006.

Celebrate Buzzards Bay is the Coalition's most important fundraising event of the year as well as an opportunity for us all to celebrate the importance of a clean and healthy Buzzards Bay. The day starts with a 1.2-mile open water Swim Buzzards Bay and ends with an evening Celebration of food and music on the shores of the Bay.

Event details will be posted on our events page as become available, so check back often!

Illustration by Dan Vasconcellos

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is a member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance.