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Inner Little Harbor Report Now Available Online
The MBP and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) recently completed a report on tide levels and water quality in Cohasset's Inner Little Harbor (ILH) based on monitoring conducted in 2008. The ecological health and management of ILH have long been of local concern, and the area suffers from the problems of stagnant water, eutrophication, habitat fragmentation and reduced habitat value, nuisance algal blooms, and poor aesthetic appearance. The report states that the presence and current management of tide gates at Cat Dam, which regulate tidal exchange from ILH, are directly linked to the poor water quality, limited fish and wildlife passage, and overall impairment of the water body. It recommends that the gates be fully or partially opened, or managed in such a way as to allow for significant tidal flushing. Requested by and prepared for the Cohasset Town Manager and Conservation Commission, the results will help to inform management decisions that will be developed and implemented through a tide gate operation and management plan. National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its first National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report, which ranks the condition of ecological resources in the 28 estuaries of EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP), including the Massachusetts Bays. Overall, the NEP's are in fair condition and scored better than or equal to all other non-NEP U.S. estuaries despite significant population pressures. The NEP estuaries were rated individually, regionally, and nationally using four primary indicators of estuarine condition: water quality, sediment quality, benthic (bottom) condition, and fish-tissue contaminant concentrations.
URL: www.mass.gov/envir/massbays/whatsnew.htm
Updated 08/24/09