Vol. 11, November 2025

Grant opportunities

Calling all teachers! FoPB grants cycle opens for area educators

The Education Committee of the Friends of Pleasant Bay is pleased to announce the opening of the annual grants cycle for local educators. For nearly 40 years, FoPB has encouraged innovative and educational projects centered on the Bay through an annual competitive grants program. This program is open to all schools in the towns of Chatham, Orleans, Harwich, Brewster, Nauset Regional District and Cape Cod Regional Technical School.

Each year, FoPB awards several competitive grants of up to $5,000 to area teachers to develop curriculum and complete projects aligned with FoPB's mission. Grants will be for implementation beginning after July 1, 2025 and includes the 2025-2026 school year. For more information and to apply, visit: friendsofpleasantbay.org/grants.

Friends of Pleasant Bay honors Wequassett Resort

FoPB's stunning 40th anniversary photograph of Pleasant Bay found a special home at Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in October. FoPB board president Allison Coleman, with board members Joanie Barker, Kari Hoffmann, and Fran Schofield, presented the aerial print to Wequassett's Area Managing Director Gary Thulander in appreciation of the resort's long-standing support of FoPB and environmental stewardship of the bay. Read more.

From coast to coast

Massachusetts to join global conservation network

In an exciting step for biodiversity protection at home and abroad, Massachusetts has announced its intention to join the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—the world’s largest network of governments and organizations working to conserve nature. The Commonwealth would become one of the first U.S. states, alongside California, to become an official member in 2026.

Governor Maura Healey called the move “a commitment to lead the nation on biodiversity conservation,” noting that membership will help Massachusetts protect wildlife, strengthen local economies, and preserve the state’s natural character—from the forests of the Berkshires to the estuaries of Pleasant Bay.

This global partnership builds on the state’s new Biodiversity Conservation Goals, a 25-year plan to rebuild ecosystems and invest in nature as a foundation for health, food security, and climate resilience. Read the full press release from the Healey-Driscoll Administration.

...and bay to bay

NOAA is charting Cape Cod Bay seafloor. Some of it for first time in nearly a century.

By Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times, October 5, 2025

Photo credit: Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times

WEST BARNSTABLE — Just off the rocky shore of Sandy Neck Beach Park, a NOAA vessel has been spotted in recent days. But what has it been doing? As it turns out, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are conducting hydrographic surveys in Cape Cod Bay, marking the first comprehensive mapping of much of the project area in nearly a century, according to the agency. Read more.

The Bay is calling—watch for our print newsletter!

Our Fall/Winter print edtion will soon be on its way, filled with stories, photos, and updates celebrating life in, on, and around Pleasant Bay. FoPB members receive our semi-annual print newsletter by mail—so join or renew today to be sure your copy arrives!

Join or update your membership here

Events

Cape Cod Conservation Calendar

Looking for (spooky) walks, talks, birding, and other programs around Pleasant Bay and Cape Cod? This month's calendar is chock full of activities for people of all ages, interests, and abilities. Click on the calendar to view or check out FoPB's Cape Cod Conservation Calendar here.

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Get up to date...and advocate!

Submit testimony in support of Bill H.898 – Protect Horseshoe Crabs

The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources is accepting written testimony in support of Bill H.898 An act to end the taking of horseshoe crabs for bait through November 4.

Horseshoe crabs are uniquely essential to both human health and our coastal ecosystem. Shorebirds and marine species rely on their eggs for food, and their blue blood is critical for ensuring the safety of human medicine. Yet in 2025, Massachusetts authorized the taking of 140,000 horseshoe crabs for bait—even though the bait market has collapsed.

Speak up for horseshoe crabs!

For more information, contact Sharl Heller. Submit written testimony by email to: jointcommittee.environment@malegislature.gov.

Photo credit: Friends of Horseshoe Crabs

Stop, shop...and help protect Pleasant Bay

Art inspired by the Bay Celebrate 40 years of stewardship with a stunning aerial view of Pleasant Bay

These prints come in three sizes and make beautiful wall art for your Cape home, primary residence, office, or workplace. And great holiday gifts for family and friends!

Please consider a purchase to help FoPB continue to CARE for Pleasant Bay!

ORDER HERE TO HELP US CARE FOR PLEASANT BAY

Life beneath the winter bay: The quiet season of the bay’s hardest workers

When winter settles over Pleasant Bay and the surface seems still, the life beneath the water quietly carries on. Shellfish, like oysters, quahogs, and soft-shell clams, don’t migrate or hibernate — instead, they adapt. As the water cools, their metabolism slows and they burrow a bit deeper into the sandy bottom, where the temperature remains more stable. In this sheltered zone, they continue filtering the Bay’s waters, even through the coldest months.

Each oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, removing excess nutrients and suspended particles that can cloud the Bay. This process helps maintain water clarity and allows more sunlight to reach eelgrass beds — essential habitat for young fish, scallops, and crabs.

While much of the Bay’s visible life lies dormant or moves offshore, the shellfish community remains quietly active, forming one of Pleasant Bay’s most dependable systems of natural filtration. Their resilience through the seasons is a reminder of the delicate balance that keeps the Bay healthy — and why protecting clean water and shellfish habitat is such a vital part of our mission.