Northshore Magazine

Environment ne 98 nshoremag.com July 2014 photograph by lighthawk sked to name their primary focus, the three Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW) staffers laugh out loud. Their "focus" is protecting and revitalizing the region's coastal waters, but the ways in which they do so are myriad. From the banks of the North River Basin to the shores of Misery Island to A Shore Corp s Salem Sound Coastwatch casts a wide net into North Shore waters. By Kiley Jacques Ipswich's Great Neck and well beyond, the 24-year-old nonprofit keeps tabs on the bodies of water that characterize the North Shore. They have worked in marshes on Newman Road in Newbury, Conomo Point in Essex, Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, and Eastern Point— also in Gloucester—where the culvert that fed the marsh was filled with fresh water for 10 years as a result of the "No- Name" storm in 1993. Consequently, the marsh filled with noxious weeds, which gave off a heady ammonia odor and became host to abundant fly larvae. But, in November 2003, with help from environmental organizations, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Mass Audubon, SSCW built a culvert, and by 2004, they were already seeing clamworms—a sign of saltwater. Soon, Coast Keepers: Danvers River, North River, Beverly Harbor, Salem Sound, Collins Cove, and Salem Harbor are some of the sites that receive SSCW's attention. invasive species were replaced with natives, and a healthy ecosystem began to return. This is but one of countless examples of SSCW's rehabilitation efforts. The organization works with government agencies, businesses, other nonprofits, and community members targeting the towns of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem, and Marble- head to encourage sustainable resource management in the Salem Sound Water- shed. "We have networks and partners throughout the state," says executive director Barbara Warren who, since the 1990s, has been monitoring salt marshes that need repair or restoration, as well as those that have been restored but require NB_KJ_NS_July 14 SalemSound.indd 98 5/9/14 10:31 AM

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