Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership (MASSBAYS)

Established as a National Estuary Program in 1990, the MassBays region covers more than 1000 miles of coastline, from the tip of Cape Cod Bay to the New Hampshire border, and serves 50 coastal communities. To provide technical assistance to all communities in the planning area, MassBays has teamed up with five partnering organizations to host MassBays regional coordinators. The regional coordinators work closely with communities to implement program goals and objectives in five coastal subregions: Upper North Shore, Lower North Shore, Metro Boston, South Shore, and Cape Cod.

For a complete list of our programs visit the Site Map.

The EPA National Estuary Program

The EPA National Estuary Program (NEP) was established under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries of national significance. There are currently 28 estuaries from around the U.S. in this program. To learn more about the NEPs visit the NEP Story Map. This interactive tool describes the vital resources of each estuary and highlights the role of local partnerships in protecting these resources and addressing the issues they face. 

Visit the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership Story Map. 

Announcement: Massachusetts Coastal Condition Assessment 

MassBays is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to collect and analyze monthly water and sediment samples from 15 locations along the entire Massachusetts coast from June through August 2020, with an option to extend the contract for additional years and monitoring locations. Resulting data will be used by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to assess whether coastal and estuarine water quality supports designated uses (see the MassDEP Water Quality Assessments page for details) and by MassBays to inform restoration efforts. For more information, to view the Request for Responses, and to download required forms, see the COMMBUYS website. A question and answer period closes on February 19, and proposals are due by February 25 at 4:00 p.m.