Science & Advocacy

The R/V Buzzards Baykeeper® monitors the health of harbors and coves throughout Buzzards Bay all year long.

For 30 years, the Coalition has kept a watchful eye on Buzzards Bay’s health through our award-winning Baywatchers water quality monitoring program. This data helps us better understand the Bay ecosystem’s response to human-related impacts.

But we don’t just study the Bay; we put this science to work. Sound science forms the foundation of all our advocacy efforts to restore and protect clean water.

We pursue the restoration and protection of the Bay ecosystem at all levels of government: local, state, and federal. We’ve pushed for limits on nitrogen pollution in every corner of the Bay, developed new laws to make the Bay safer from oil spills, and fought for a full cleanup of toxic pollution in New Bedford Harbor. We also work hand-in-hand with communities and citizens to support local measures that prevent new pollution.

Through science and advocacy, we’re leading the way to restore the waters of Buzzards Bay for fish, shellfish, wildlife, and most importantly, people.

Watershed Protection

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visits The Sawmill, a landmark Buzzards Bay Coalition restoration project on the Acushnet River. (Image: Eric Vance/EPA)

Watershed protection is about conserving all of the parts of the Buzzards Bay ecosystem – not just its harbors and coves, but its forests, wetlands, rivers, streams, and groundwater. These critical areas provide important habitats, protect our drinking water sources, and act as natural filters for the Bay.

The Coalition pursues a Bay-focused land protection and restoration strategy. We focus on the most vulnerable forests, streams, and wetlands in the watershed – natural areas that the Bay cannot afford to lose.

Since 1998, we’ve protected more than 7,000 acres throughout the Buzzards Bay watershed. We’re an accredited land trust, which is the highest national recognition that a land conservation organization can receive.

As part of our role as a regional leader in land conservation, we also assist towns and empower local land trusts to preserve the most important forests, streams, and wetlands in their communities. We also educate private homeowners about land conservation, which has saved thousands of acres that may have otherwise been sold and developed.

We don’t just conserve land; we restore natural areas that have been damaged by poorly planned sprawling development. Across the watershed, we’re reopening streams, rebuilding wetlands, and creating better access for people to explore the outdoors.

Through watershed protection, we’re forever protecting the region’s valuable forests, streams, and wetlands and restoring damaged areas so the Bay ecosystem can thrive.

Community Engagement

The Coalition’s youth engagement programs help connect thousands of children with the Bay and the outdoors.

The key to a clean, healthy Bay is an engaged community that understands the threats that Buzzards Bay faces and their own role in protecting it.

Connecting people to the Bay is a fundamental component of the Coalition’s work. Every year, we lead thousands of children and adults on outdoor exploration programs across the watershed. We’re building a network of Bay discovery sites where all people can get outside. And through annual events like our Swim and Watershed Ride, we’re sustaining these connections to the places across our irreplaceable Bay that people love.

Creating an engaged, informed public also means educating decision makers in government, business, and agriculture. During free workshops throughout the year, we provide real-world solutions for people whose daily decisions affect the health of Bay and the local environment.

Through community engagement, we’re creating a new generation of Bay stewards: People who understand their place in the Bay ecosystem and support its protection for decades to come.