What happens on the land directly affects the health of Buzzards Bay. Healthy streams, forests, and wetlands protect clean water. But poorly planned development can lead to more nitrogen pollution in our harbors, coves, and rivers.
This land is called the Buzzards Bay watershed: the 432-square-mile area that drains to the Bay. All of the ponds, streams, and rivers that flow through the watershed eventually lead to the Bay.
You can make a difference for clean water in Buzzards Bay. Do your part for the Bay by taking a few of these simple actions at home, in your community, and on the water. By reducing pollution, we can all make a difference to protect our Bay for everybody to enjoy.
You can make a difference for clean water in Buzzards Bay. Take action today by becoming a member, donating online, or signing up to volunteer with the Coalition. There are also many ways you can help the Bay at home, on the water, and in your community.
Every four years, the Buzzards Bay Coalition releases the State of Buzzards Bay, a comprehensive review of the health of the Bay. Using indicators in the categories of water pollution, watershed health, and living resources, we generate an overall score of the Bay’s health.
The Buzzards Bay Coalition works throughout the Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound watersheds to protect and restore the region’s coastal, river, and drinking water quality and the upland forests, wetlands, and streams that support a healthy coastal ecosystem.
The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a membership-supported nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration, protection, and sustainable use and enjoyment of our irreplaceable Bay and its watershed. The Coalition works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research, and advocacy.
The Bay Health Index measures the nutrient-related health of more than 100 harbors, coves, salt ponds and rivers throughout Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. The index is a snapshot of the Bay’s health, using monitoring data collected each summer by the Coalition’s Baywatchers program and analyzed the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. Each local waterway is assigned a score between 100 and 0, with 100 being pristine water and 0 representing severe nitrogen pollution. For nearly 30 years, this data has formed the foundation of work to protect clean water in our region.
Thank you to Jennette Barnes for her excellent Nov. 19 feature on the protection of Dartmouth’s Ocean View Farm. This landmark conservation success was made possible due to a partnership of great local nonprofits and generous private donors for sure. Equally important to this project and a host of other environmental efforts in our area was the public funding that made it a reality.
A free, permanent boat pumpout service is coming to Cuttyhunk Harbor next summer, replacing the Coalition’s weekly pumpout service aboard the R/V Buzzards Baykeeper®. The Coalition has donated the pumpout equipment it no longer needs to the town of Marion to create a mobile pumpout service for boat owners around Sippican Harbor.