Administration awards funding for Buzzards Bay conservation efforts

The Healey-Driscoll administration on July 7 announced $150,000 for land conservation projects in the Buzzards Bay watershed.

The funding was awarded through the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, which is overseen by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.

The towns of Bourne and Plymouth will each receive $75,000 to permanently protect land at the head of Buttermilk Bay to conserve core habitat for wildlife, benefit water quality, enable restoration of retired cranberry bogs, and expand areas for public access.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition will purchase and own the land, while the towns will hold permanent conservation restrictions on 60 acres and 179 acres, respectively. These purchases are part of the Buttermilk Bay Land Conservation Project that will protect more than 390 acres of forested uplands, cranberry bogs, and wetlands.