Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program (CWP) is one of the most effective entities working to protect coastal birds and barrier beaches in New England.

ORI Relationship

In spring 2008, CWP contacted ORI with an urgent need for equipment to monitor and protect piper plovers on Cape Cod during the upcoming nesting season. The CWP budget had been slashed due to unexpected shortfalls in grant funding. Responding quickly, ORI helped raise funds and obtain the equipment through its network of ORI Stewards and other donors.

Overview

The CWP was launched in 1987 in response to declining populations of piping plovers and terns in Massachusetts, with the primary objective of protecting these species’ nesting areas throughout the state. The program has successfully helped to recover the population of piping plovers from 135 pairs in 1986 to 550 in 2007.

Location: Massachusetts coastline, primarily on the South Shore, Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod and the Islands.