Grants To Help Ensure Health Of Massachusetts Bays

Several environmental organizations are sharing a nearly $100,000 grant to help improve the health of the ecosystems of Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay.

The federal funds will be matched by almost $200,000 in municipal and private contributions, according to the state Office of Coastal Zone Management.

Projects funded through this year's Healthy Estuaries Grants include water quality monitoring, resource management planning, and investigations of estuary habitats.

The Center for Coastal Studies will use its portion of the grant to expand its existing water quality monitoring program to include measures of coastal and ocean acidification.

The Mystic River Watershed Association will conduct an inventory of environmental conditions in Belle Isle Marsh.

The Merrimack River Watershed Council will collect data on water quality and bacteria in the river.

Salem Sound Coastwatch will investigate the impacts of docks and piers on seagrass in Salem Sound to ensure protection of an important fish habitat.

"These grants apply federal funds to local projects that directly improve water quality and habitat conditions from Salisbury to Provincetown," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said in a statement.