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Salem State University and the town of Danvers are among the eight recipients receiving $135,000 in federal grant funding for projects to protect Massachusetts coastal waters.
Winners of Massachusetts Bays Program Research and Planning Grants were announced yesterday. The grant program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, supports projects that identify the causes of coastal habitat degradation, develop plans to address coastal water quality pollution and protect Massachusetts 1,500 miles of coastline.
The Danvers is being awarded $20,000 to conduct a study to identify a sustainable funding mechanism for stormwater management. Salem State will be given $22,992 for a project to explore the nature and causes of reduced water clarity in Salem Harbor and its potential impact on eelgrass habitat.
Other 2012 grant winners include the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen Association, the Saugus River Watershed Council, the Wildlands Trust, the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Also, the University of New Hampshire will receive $25,000 for a project to create an eelgrass habitat suitability model in Plum Island Sound to identify potential restoration sites.
— Bethany Bray
