251 Causeway Street, Suite 800
Boston, MA  02114-2136

Phone:  (617) 626-1230
Fax:  (617) 626-1240
Website:  http://www.mass.gov/envir/massbays/

In 1990, the Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) became the second National Estuary Program (NEP) to be designated in Massachusetts. The MBP covers the area from the Merrimack River to Cape Cod, including both Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. The MBP is designed to: examine the causes and effects of bay pollution, reduce coastal pollution through action-oriented conservation and management of bay waters and land areas adjacent to them, and develop a management system to protect and restore the natural resources of Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. In September of 1996, the MBP completed its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, which included recommendations for 49 municipalities from the New Hampshire border to the tip of Cape Cod.