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Coastal Waterbird Program
The Coastal Waterbird Program is celebrating 25 years!
Mass Audubon's Coastal Waterbird Program is one of the most effective entities working to protect coastal birds and barrier beaches in North America. Launched in 1986 in response to declining populations of Piping Plovers and Terns in Massachusetts, the Coastal Waterbird Program’s primary objective is to protect nesting and foraging areas throughout the state.
In partnership with federal, state, and municipal agencies, and with private landowners, the program has helped to recover the number of Piping Plovers nesting in the state from 135 pairs in 1986 to 650 pairs in 2011—approximately 1/3 of the Atlantic Coast population.
Through management, science-based conservation, policy development, and education, the Coastal Waterbird Program protects over 60 miles of coastline annually and manages approximately:
- 40-50 percent of the state's piping plovers
- 40 percent of Massachusetts least terns
- 20 percent of Massachusetts American oystercatchers
The program focuses on protection of the most threatened species of coastal birds, and more broadly, coastal ecosystem management. The Coastal Waterbird Program serves as a model for integrated coastal resource management.
Mass Audubon’s Commitment
Mass Audubon has an extensive history of protecting coastal waterbird populations; waterbird conservation was the impetus for the formation of the organization in 1896. Today, Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries throughout southeastern Massachusetts are working to protect coastal waterbirds and habitat in local communities.
Coastal Waterbird Program staff working state-wide to support local efforts is based at Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary in Barnstable. Visit our sanctuaries and nature centers in Wellfleet, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Dartmouth, Marshfield, and Barnstable to learn more!
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