Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $150,000 in Grants to Protect Habitat and Water Quality in the Buzzards Bay Watershed

Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $150,000 for land conservation projects in the Buzzards Bay watershed. The two grants are awarded by the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). 

“Permanently protecting conservation land in Massachusetts is a smart investment that provides lasting benefits for communities and the environment,” said Coastal Zone Management Director and Interim Director of the Buzzards Bay NEP Alison Brizius. “We are grateful to Bourne, Plymouth, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition for their partnership in protecting this land and enhancing the habitat and water quality of Buzzards Bay.”

The Towns of Bourne and Plymouth will each receive $75,000 to permanently protect land at the head of Buttermilk Bay. The Buttermilk Bay Land Conservation Project, a partnership between the Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC) and the two municipalities, will protect more than 390 acres of forested uplands, cranberry bogs, and wetlands. The BBC will purchase and own the land, and the Towns of Bourne and Plymouth will hold permanent conservation restrictions on 60 acres and 179 acres, respectively. The project will conserve core habitat for wildlife, benefit water quality, enable restoration of retired cranberry bogs, and expand areas for public access.

“The National Estuary Program remains a critical tool for preserving and improving our region’s waters and lands,” said Congressman Bill Keating. “Protecting these uplands within the Buttermilk Bay watershed will directly improve water quality in the bay, which serves as a vital recreational area for communities across Plymouth and Bristol counties. The Program remains a great success for our region.”

“Protecting the lands that surround Buzzards Bay is one of the most effective ways we can safeguard water quality, protect the natural environment, and strengthen coastal resilience,” said State Senator Dylan Fernandes (Plymouth and Barnstable). “These grants will help conserve critical properties throughout the watershed and ensure that future generations can enjoy the natural beauty and ecological health of Buzzards Bay.”

“Any opportunity to permanently protect valuable conservation resources, such as forests, bogs, and wetlands, is an opportunity that we should take. This open space will promote biodiversity, coastal storm resilience, groundwater quality, and so much more,” said State Representative Kathleen LaNatra (12th Plymouth). “I want to thank the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management for this forward-thinking investment into the region’s open space and to the towns of Plymouth and Bourne, as well as the Buzzards Bay Coalition, for their stewardship of this valuable resource.”

“I want to thank the administration and the Office of Coastal Zone Management for this investment allowing the Buzzards Bay Coalition to purchase critical watershed protection land around Buttermilk Bay, and for the partnership with the towns of Bourne and Plymouth to permanently protect this land by holding conservation restrictions in perpetuity,” said State Representative David T. Vieira (3rd Barnstable).

The Office of Coastal Zone Management is the lead policy and planning agency on coastal and ocean issues within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Created in 1985, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program provides grants and technical assistance to Buzzards Bay watershed communities to protect and restore water quality and natural resources in Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed.

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