What's New

StormSmart Coasts - Designed to help people working in coastal communities address the challenges arising from storms, floods, sea level rise, and climate change, the StormSmart Coasts program provides a menu of tools for successful coastal floodplain management. StormSmart Coasts includes an extensive website with regulatory tools, case studies, planning strategies, and other technical assistance materials targeting municipal officials, including staff and members of Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, Zoning Boards of Appeals, Departments of Public Works, Building/Engineering Departments, Boards of Health, and emergency management planners.

Aquatic Habitat Restoration Task Force Report and Recommendations - The final report of the Aquatic Habitat Restoration Task Force has been released. Charting the Course: A Blueprint for the Future of Aquatic Habitat Restoration in Massachusetts includes six recommendations to guide future restoration efforts in the Commonwealth.

2008 Boaters' Guide to Tides and Pumpout Facilities - The 2008 Boaters' Guide to Tides and Pumpout Facilities will be available in May. The wallet-sized pamphlet, printed on waterproof paper, contains information on the locations of pumpout facilities along the Massachusetts coastline and a June-September tide chart. To reserve a free copy, email your request and mailing address to czm@state.ma.us. Additional information about pumpouts, including an online list of pumpout facilities is available on CZM's pumpout web page.

Jobs

• Ocean Services Manager—Deadline Extended - CZM is seeking applications for an Ocean Services Manager to provide critical policy, planning, and coordinating functions for CZM and EEA. In addition, the manager will organize and coordinate an inter-agency ocean planning team and will lead CZM's external efforts on ocean management (see CZM's Ocean Management Initiative website). Applications are due by May 9.
  
  
• CZM Internship Opportunities - CZM is soliciting applications for the following five internships. All internships are unpaid, part-time positions.
  • Aquatic Invasive Species Program Internship - CZM's Aquatic Invasive Species Program is seeking an intern to assist with: monitoring for invasives at marinas and rocky shores, citizen training efforts, and literature review and other research. The schedule is flexible and will include field work.
  • Massachusetts Bays Program Internship - The Massachusetts Bays Program is seeking an intern to assist with designing a "living" atlas of the Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays region to serve as a framework for the development of a habitat classification scheme. The anticipated schedule is 20 hours per week in July and August.
  • BUAR Internships - The Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources is seeking three interns, with flexible schedules of two to five days per week, to:
    1. Assist with BUAR nominations to National Register of Historic Places.
    2. Assist with development of a submerged cultural resources geodatabase.
    3. Identify partners and develop a training program for BUAR's Shoreline Heritage Identification Partnership Strategy Program.
  For the full position descriptions including application details, see the EEA website.

• Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Funding - CZM is seeking applications for funding under the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP). CELCP provides state and local governments with matching funds to purchase significant coastal and estuarine lands, or conservation easements on such lands, that are considered important for their ecological, conservation, recreational, historical, or aesthetic values. Applications will be reviewed and ranked for nomination to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for evaluation and potential Federal Fiscal Year 2009 CELCP funding. To view the Request for Responses (RFR), visit the Comm-PASS Website and search for document number "ENV 08 CZM 03." Applications are due by July 2.
  
  
• §319 Grants - The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is seeking proposals for the §319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Competitive Grants Program. To view the Request for Responses (RFR), go to the Comm-PASS website and search for document number "RFR BRP 2008-01." A public information session will be held at MassDEP's Worcester Office on April 22. For details about past §319 projects, see MassDEP's Website. Proposals are due by June 3.

• CZ-Mail - May 2008
• StormSmart Coasts Fact Sheet: Introduction to No Adverse Impact (NAI) Land Management in the Coastal Zone (PDF, 5.5 MB)
• StormSmart Coasts Case Study: A Cape Cod Community Prevents New Residences in Floodplains (PDF, 5.7 MB)
• StormSmart Coasts Fact Sheet: No Adverse Impact and the Legal Framework of Coastal Management (PDF, 1.9 MB)
• Aquatic Habitat Restoration Task Force Report and Recommendations
• Massachusetts Pumpout Facilities
• Coastlines 2007
• Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration Update - February 2008
• Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts - the final report of the Massachusetts Coastal Hazards Commission.
• Massachusetts Coast Guide to Boston and the North Shore
• Online Locator of Coastal Public Access Sites
• Clean Marina Guide Update - CZM has updated the hull maintenance section (4.1) of the Massachusetts Clean Marina Guide.
• Habitat Classification Feasibility Study for Coastal and Marine Environments in Massachusetts (PDF, 1 MB)
• Survey of Potential Marsh Dieback Sites in Coastal Massachusetts (PDF, 1.1 MB)

• The are no significant CZM related comment opportunities at this time.

• StormSmart Coasts Regional Workshops—Save the Dates - In May, CZM will launch its new StormSmart Coasts program with a series of regional workshops. StormSmart Coasts includes technical assistance and legal guidance, regulatory tools, case studies, planning strategies, and an extensive website created to support local efforts to improve the management of coastal floodplains in Massachusetts. These workshops will be held in Norwell on May 14, New Bedford on May 15, Barnstable on May 28, and Danvers on May 29. See CZM's Calendar page for details.
  
  
• Low Impact Development Conference and Vendor Exhibit - On June 23, the 2^nd Annual Massachusetts Low Impact Development Conference and Vendor Exhibit—Where Are We Today and Are We Ready for Tomorrow?—will be held at the Burlington Marriott. For details, see CZM's Calendar page

• Check out the CZM Calendar for more CZM related events, including a number of Smart Growth Workshops being held across the Commonwealth.