Coastal Waterbird Program

The Coastal Waterbird Program has successfully helped to recover the populations of Piping Plovers from 135 pairs in 1986 to 550 in 2007. Massachusetts is integral to the recovery of the federally threatened Atlantic Coast Population of the Piping Plover, supporting roughly 1/3 of the breeding population. The program monitors 75 sites on the Massachusetts coastline, primarily on the South Shore, Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod and the Islands, and protects approximately 45% of federally threatened Piping Plovers, 60% of Least Terns, 20% of American Oystercatchers, as well as many sites for Common and Arctic terns.

Photos of piping plover with chick by John Van de Graaff

In addition to protecting the most threatened nesting birds, the Coastal Waterbird Program advocates for the protection of the entire coastal ecosystem in as natural a state as possible. CWP works to protect the natural quality of the state's coastal beaches, salt marshes, and tidelands, which serves as habitats to 49 species of breeding birds and 112 species of migratory or wintering birds. The populations of many of these once common species, such as Sanderlings, have been declining dramatically in recent years and must be included in these protection efforts.