An eelgrass restoration program implemented by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries aimed to mitigate assumed impacts to marine resources resulting from the HubLine gas pipeline construction which transits the Harbor. The restoration was intended to provide important shallow-water eelgrass habitat to juvenile crustaceans, shellfish, and finfish which commonly inhabit sea grass meadows.

The Coonamessett River in Cape Cod has seen declines in fish populations and degradation to aquatic habitat from a history of mill construction and cranberry cultivation. The Town of Falmouth removed one of the dams on the river, restored a bog to wetland conditions, replaced two undersized culverts, and rerouted flows around another dam. 

County of Barnstable, Massachusetts encourages municipalities to take actions that lower flood risks, which can reduce flood insurance premiums by earning credits through the Community Rating System (CRS). In one project, 26 mosquito-control workers cleaned debris out of the 1,500 miles of ditches, pipers, and other conduits that channeled stormwater away from buildings and roads.

An engineer-ecologist team designed a living shoreline tailored to conditions on New England coastlines. After site analysis, the team used coir products (“marsh pillows”) in their living shoreline design. This winter storm-resistant approach slowed the erosion of a 30-foot bank, increased vegetation cover, and protected coastal properties. 

This project will restore dunes on Duxbury Beach to prevent erosion and enhance the beach’s ability to protect communities behind it from storm surges and sea-level rise. 76,633 tons of sand were used to restore the dunes. The dunes were raised to 17ft high, and the tops of the dunes were raised to over 45 feet.  

The Fowl Meadow Purple Loosestrife Biological Control Project is a five-year collaborative wetland restoration project in the Neponset River Watershed, Massachusetts. The project uses Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla beetles and larvae as a biological control agent to control and reduce the presence of exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

The Herring River Restoration Project in Massachusetts will replace the restrictive dike at the mouth of the river with a bridge that will allow tidal water to flow freely between the river and Wellfleet Harbor. This will restore the biodiverse, productive, estuary that existed pre-dike construction.  

Built very close to sea level, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston implemented innovative strategies to keep critical infrastructure and patient care above future flood levels. The hospital incorporated extensive green roofs as part of its feature to reduce stormwater runoff during heavy precipitation.

This project removed three aging dams and replaced a fourth on the Mill River in Taunton, Massachusetts to increase the area’s ecological and community resilience and reduce flooding. These efforts reconnected more than 48 kilometers of rivers and streams linked to Narragansett Bay. 

Massachusetts government initiated the Permeable Paving Materials and Bioretention in the Silver Lake Beach Parking Lot, aiming to reduce runoff volume, improve water quality, and enhance groundwater recharge. The project incorporated permeable paving materials, bioretention cells, and two ten-foot-wide vegetated water quality swales.