In case you missed it, we released the Buzzards Bay Coalition 2023 Annual Report highlighting accomplishments from the past year to protect clean water in Buzzards Bay.
Stormy skies cleared just in time for the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s 36th Annual Meeting, held May 23rd at the Onset Bay Center (OBC). More than 100 members gathered on the OBC terrace for conversation and cheer, enjoying clear views of a placid Onset Bay over to Wickets Island and beyond. The highlight of the evening, however, took place when guests moved into the Center’s McFadden Hall for the evening’s program and the presentation of the 2024 Buzzards Bay Guardian Awards.
An anonymous donor has stepped forward with a $100,000 Matching Challenge to ensure that the Onset Bay Center would have a dedicated launch boat service for its 2024 summer season and to inspire others to invest in this special project.
Results from the 2023 water quality monitoring season were released last month on our website. Monitoring data is summarized into a Bay Health Index based on a score of zero to 100. Scores reflect the state of the Bay as a habitat for fish, shellfish, and other parts of its natural ecosystem; they do not include measures of bacteria that would indicate whether water is safe for swimming or the status of shellfish beds.
The Buzzards Bay Coalition’s Horseneck Point Life-Saving station will soon welcome a new replica lifeboat from Newport’s IYRS School of Technology & Trades. The new replica is based on the Race Point Surfboat, the closest design to the original lifeboats that once patrolled the waters off Horseneck Point.
The Coalition continues to focus on water quality across Buzzards Bay’s numerous harbors and coves, including New Bedford Harbor – the busy commercial port that hosts more than 400 fishing vessels and a burgeoning offshore wind energy industry. It’s also the only Bay harbor plagued with a chronic oil spill problem.
The Buzzards Bay Coalition has been working closely with area towns to identify high-priority culverts, both on freshwater and tidal streams, that need replacement; replacing these with properly sized structures can make roadways less prone to flooding, and would also foster many ecological benefits.
The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a membership-supported organization dedicated to improving the health of the Buzzards Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research, and advocacy.
We work to protect clean water on the Bay and on the land:
