Buzzards Bay

Mark Rasmussen, PresidentBuzzards Bay Coalition, Massachusetts, USA

Case Study of Public Monitoring in United States

Buzzards Bay Coalition

• Nonprofit organization dedicated to restoration, protection & sustainable use & enjoyment of the Bay and its watershed.

• Work to improve the Bay ecosystem’s health through conservation, advocacy, education, and research.

• Supported by 9,200 members. Budget $2.5 million USD

Photo: Robert Manz

Why Create Baywatchers Program?

• 1992 Comprehensive Management Plan for Buzzards Bay identifies Nitrogen Pollution as greatest long-term threat to Bay. While nutrient problems well documented elsewhere (ie. Chesapeake Bay, Baltic Sea), extent of the problem in Buzzards Bay was unknown.

• BBC realized that no one – communities, state and federal agencies, scientists, etc – would be able to do anything about the nitrogen problem without information and the ability to track trends over time. How would anyone know what to focus on, how would we see if we were making progress, etc.?

• No examples existed at the time to help create a program to cover such a large area over time at low cost. BBC with support from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had to invent.

Guiding Goal: A well-coordinated citizen effort, with good technical and managerial oversight, will not only produce good quality information that is useful for government, but will also increase citizen awareness of local environmental degradation.

Baywatchers Monitoring Program

• Basic water quality testing (DO, temp, salinity, secchi) performed every ~5 days from May - Sept

• Nutrient and algae samples collected 4 times a summer and analyzed by Marine Biological Lab Ecosystems Center (under 10 yr contract to BBC).

• ~200 stations in 30 harbors & coves• Coalition staff train ~130 volunteers. >700 people

since 1992. • Largest monitoring effort in MA, cover ¼ of coast• Methods approved by US EPA and MA DEP

Baywatchers Program Growth

From its creation in 1992, Baywatchers has grown to annually engage 130 volunteers who cover 200 sampling locations.

Bay Health Index

• Key monitoring parameters are combined to produce a Bay Health Index score on a scale of 0 to 100– Dissolved oxygen saturation

– Secchi disk depth

– Total algal pigments

– Total Organic Nitrogen

– Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen

Calculating the Bay Health Index

Annual averages of 5 parameters are combined to produce a Bay Health Index score from 0 to 100:Parameter 0 points 100 points

DO (lowest 20% of measmts) 40% sat 90% sat

Secchi disk depth 0.6 m 3 m

Chla + pheo 10 ug L-1 3 ug L-1

DIN 10 uM(0.14 ppm)

1 uM(0.014 ppm)

TON 43 uM(0.6 ppm)

20 uM(0.28 ppm)

Index plots Decline in Bay Health

Examples of what the data can show

Water quality declines with no action

Water quality improvements after action

Data Uses: Documents Effect of reducing N

Data Uses: Water Quality in a Warming World

Strengths of Baywatchers

• Continuous long term record (25 yrs)

• Volunteers allow large spatial coverage at relatively low cost

• Renowned scientific institution as partner

• Data has been accepted by EPA/DEP for regulatory use in pollution permitting and management.

Baywatchers Budget & FundingMix of Government & Private Support

Baywatchers Monitoring Plan