About the R&P Grant Program

The Mass Bays Research and Planning Grant Program was created in 2011 to support research, planning, and local capacity building initiatives in the Mass Bays region. Funded projects aid in the implementation of the Mass Bays Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, Mass Bays' guiding document. Although there are many funding sources which provide support for implementing restoration work, funding for the planning phases of restoration projects is not always easy to find. Mass Bays' Research and Planning Grant Program aims to fill the gap between restoration idea conception and restoration implementation. By providing a funding source for research and planning, we help ensure the advancement of future restoration projects along the Mass Bays coast.

Mass Bays 2013 Research & Planning Grant Recipients Announced

On February 13th, EEA Secretary Sullivan announced $84,000 in federal funding awards through the Massachusetts Bays Program Research and Planning Grants. In its third year, the grants will support local initiatives and fund projects to understand the causes of coastal habitat degradation, develop plans to address coastal water quality and restore estuarine habitats, and build local capacity to protect coastal resources. Funds will be provided to the following nonprofits and academic institutions:

  • Friends of Herring River - $20,000 to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed tidal control structures designed to restore salt marsh conditions to the Herring River floodplain in Wellfleet
  • Neponset River Watershed Association  - $7,500 to address water quality concerns in the Neponset River Area of Critical Environmental Concern
  • Cohasset Center for Student Central Research  - $10,600 to conduct a survey of river herring populations and perform water quality monitoring in the Gulf River estuary
  • Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries  - $8,120 to study the impacts of small docks and piers on salt marsh vegetation in Massachusetts estuaries
  • University of New Hampshire  - $20,000 to test the viability of transplanting eelgrass into Plum Island Sound  where it was once abundant
  • Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies  - $18,323 to conduct an assessment of shoreline change along the coast from Beach Point in Truro to Jeremy Point in Wellfleet

For details on this year's grants, see EEA's Press Release.

For questions relating to the Mass Bays' Research and Planning Grant Program, please contact:

Prassede Vella
Massachusetts Bays Program
251 Causeway Street, Suite 800
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 626-1217
Prassede.Vella@state.ma.us