Vol. 9: September 2025

Oh, what a night! Friends of Pleasant Bay celebrates 40 years of partnership to protect Pleasant Bay!

On a beautiful early August evening, approximately 200 Friends of Pleasant Bay members, partners, and neighbors gathered for our 40th Anniversary and Annual Meeting at the Wequassett Resort & Golf Club on Pleasant Bay. The occasion was both joyful and inspiring — a chance to look back on four decades of stewardship and to look ahead to the future of the Bay we all cherish.

The program featured welcoming remarks and annual meeting reports from our leadership team and an engaging panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing Pleasant Bay. Scientists, educators, and community leaders shared perspectives on climate change, conservation, and the importance of collaboration in protecting this extraordinary estuary. We also heard from research partners and educators who spoke of how Friends’ grants and support have advanced their studies and deepened their connection to the Bay. Their insights underscored how much has been accomplished since Friends was founded in 1985 — and how much there is still to do.

State Representative Hadley Luddy presented FoPB Board President Allison Coleman with a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Citation honoring FoPB's long-standing contributions to the environment. Another program highlight was the presentation of the inaugural Kathryn H. Manson Founder’s Award to FoPB founder, Kathryn Manson. The evening closed with thanks to our members, donors, and volunteers who make our work possible.

With our friends, lively conversations, and a shared commitment to stewardship, the 40th Anniversary celebration was a milestone we will long remember. We are grateful to everyone who joined us and look forward to working together to ensure the Bay’s health and beauty for the next 40 years and beyond.

Cheers to 40 years.

Your support means the world!

Our 40th Anniversary Celebration was a joyful milestone — made possible by our generous sponsors. Their support honors four decades of stewardship while helping us safeguard Pleasant Bay’s future. When you trade with these businesses, please thank them for supporting Friends of Pleasant Bay. Together, we’re making a lasting difference!

Thanks For the Memories!

A fine state of (environmental) affairs

Healey unveils 'nation-leading' plan on Cape Cod to save what's wild in MA. 'Quiet crisis'

By Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times, August 23, 2025

CUMMAQUID, BARNSTABLE —

Standing at the edge of a saltmarsh in Barnstable, Gov. Maura Healey unveiled what her administration is calling a "nation-leading" push to protect Massachusetts' wildlife and natural landscapes.

The announcement, made Aug. 21 at Mass Audubon's Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, builds on an executive order Healey signed in 2023, directing the Department of Fish and Game to lead a comprehensive review of the state's biodiversity conservation efforts and to recommend long-term goals for 2030, 2040 and 2050. Read more.

What does the MA Ready Act plan do?

The plan sets clear targets to protect 30% of Massachusetts' lands by 2030 and 40% by 2050, focusing on the most important habitats for wildlife. It also calls for restoring 75% of key habitats by 2050 and improving coastal and marine ecosystems, including salt marshes and eelgrass beds. Additionally, the Mass Ready Act:

Takes practical steps like creating safe wildlife crossings, reducing pollution and plastics, removing obsolete dams to help fish migration, and support local farming and fishing.
Launches a public-private Biodiversity Partnership, with Mass Audubon as the first partner. Mass Audubon is giving $5 million to help meet the "30 by 30" goal − protecting 30% of natural areas by 2030.
Includes more than $370 million for land protection and biodiversity work, with more funding tagged specifically for advancing the plan. Read more.

Tidal Currents: Essays on nature, water, and wonder by a long-time friend

We’re excited to share a new project by long-time Friends of Pleasant Bay member, contributor, and past board director Sandy MacFarlane.

A noted coastal environmentalist and author, Sandy has launched a Substack newsletter called Tidal Currents, where she shares weekly essays exploring nature—particularly the sea—and our connection to the rhythms of the water. Her thoughtfull essays and reflections aim to bring a sense of hope and optimism in these challenging times. You can read the first essay, “Just A Drop of Water,” and subscribe (free of charge) to receive future posts here.

Events

Celebrate Our Waters 2025 saves the best for last

Saturday and Sunday, September 13 & 14

Please join the Orleans Pond Coalition (OPC) on September 13-14 for the third and final edition of Celebrate Our Waters, 2025.

In partnership with the town of Orleans, OPC is planning two full days of fun and informative activities. So come out and discover the natural wonder, scenic beauty and recreational pleasure of Orleans’ priceless waterways.

This year, new offerings will include two new kayaking trips on Pleasant Bay and a presentation by Boston University coastal geologist Dr Alyssa Novak on her research to enhance eelgrass resiliency in our estuaries. Other favorite outings include sailing on Pleasant Bay, hiking on Sipson Island and Pochet Island, beach yoga, bird watching, and much more. And don’t miss the ever-popular live concert and bonfire on Nauset Beach Saturday evening, kicking off with a beach clean-up at 4:30 pm, co-sponsored with Surfrider. For more information, a listing of all activities and details about events requiring registration, please visit the Orleans Pond Coalition website.

Registration opens for Cape Cod Commission's 2025 OneCape Summit

The OneCape Summit will take place September 16-17, 2025 at the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich, MA. Each year, the OneCape Summit serves as a regional forum for collaboration, innovation, and informed action. It brings together national thought leaders, local decision-makers, and community stakeholders to explore pressing challenges and exciting opportunities shaping Cape Cod’s future.

OneCape offers a chance to connect regional initiatives with national models and best practices while showcasing local leadership and success stories. General sessions highlight national and regional thought leaders while breakout sessions connect case studies with local action. Themes across both days will address climate adaptation, natural and water resources protection, sustainable development, community resilience, economic opportunity, and more. Learn more and register here.

Cape Cod Conservation Calendar

Looking for 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.

Opportunity for advocacy

The Cape Cod Commission has extended the comment period for the draft 2025 Regional Policy Plan. The public may submit comments through Wednesday, September 24, 2025.

The Regional Policy Plan (RPP) is the Cape Cod Commission’s blueprint for balancing growth with stewardship of the region’s unique natural and community assets. Required under the Cape Cod Commission Act, the plan outlines a regional vision and growth policy, sets goals and objectives, and provides the framework that guides both local planning efforts and the Commission’s regulatory review.

The public may submit comments in writing by mail to the Cape Cod Commission, P.O. Box 226, 3225 Main St. Barnstable, MA 02630 or online using the form located at

https://capecodcommission.org/comment.

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Decorate and do good...with just one click!

Stunning aerial prints of Pleasant Bay now available for purchase — in three sizes!

SIZE & PRICE OPTIONS

LARGE (36x24") - $80
MEDIUM (30x20") - $65
SMALL (24x16") - $40

(Frame not included in purchase price.)

www.friendsofpleasantbay.org/aerialprints

To commemorate our 40th Anniversary milestone, FoPB is offering exclusive aerial prints of Pleasant Bay, capturing its breathtaking beauty from above—a stunning reminder of what we all love, and work to protect. Perhaps you remember one hanging in grandma's house on Cape Cod from years ago. Now's your chance to make memories of Pleasant Bay as it is today.

These prints make stunning wall art for your Cape home, off-Cape residence, office, or workplace. They also make great gifts for any occasion.

Decorate, do good, and purchase one today! Order now and help support the ongoing work of FoPB.

The Nauset Barrier Beach: It's always on the move

The Nauset Barrier Beach (sometimes just called Nauset Beach) is one long, continuous barrier beach system, stretching for about 9 miles along the Atlantic side of Orleans and Chatham.

While people often refer to different sections of the beach as separate beaches (e.g., Nauset Beach, Nauset Spit, South Beach, etc.), geographically and geologically, they are components of one barrier beach system.

The Nauset Barrier Beach—whose long, narrow landforms are built and rebuilt by wind, waves, tides, and storms—is Pleasant Bay’s living border with the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike solid landforms, they are dynamic. Every storm season brings subtle shifts, and once in a while, a dramatic breakthrough occurs that forever changes the Bay.

Like all barrier beaches, Nauset Barrier Beach is nature’s multitasker. It shields Pleasant Bay from the full force of the ocean, buffering salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and coastal homes from waves. It also creates prime nesting habitat for shorebirds such as piping plovers, terns, and oystercatchers. Beneath the waterline, the openings and closures of barrier inlets influence currents, water quality, and fish passage — with ripple effects throughout the Bay’s ecology.

The Bay’s history is written in these shifting sands. In 1987, a powerful storm cut a dramatic new inlet through Chatham’s barrier beach. That “Break” allowed more ocean water to circulate inside the Bay, improving water quality and revitalizing fisheries.

Nearly four decades later, Pleasant Bay has seen another chapter unfold as a new breach opened in the winter of 2025. While scientists are still studying its long-term effects, early observations suggest it may once again alter tidal flushing, reshape nearby shorelines, and create fresh habitat for fish and birds. For those who live, work, and play around the Bay, it’s a vivid reminder that Pleasant Bay is never static — it’s a dynamic, ever-evolving estuary where land and sea are constantly rewriting the map. (Image credit: Sea Level Rise, a report prepared by the Center for Coastal Studies for the Pleasant Bay Alliance.)