Living Observatory Projects

I am please to share a new open access publication from our research team US Department of Agriculture — Agricultural Reserch Service and Partners at Woodwell Climate Research Center and Buzzards Bay Coalition. The citation and access links and highlights are given below.

We’re pleased to share that two new contracts have been signed in support of Grant Strategy #3 – Foundations, focusing on:

On May 30, 2025 the Overlook at the Coonamessett River Restoration Site was been officially named after Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Gladfelter, in recognition of her many contributions -- writing grants, coordinating partners and volunteers, and steadfast support for ecosystem restoration and creation of public open space in Falmouth and beyond.

On Sept 16, 2025, the ribbon-cutting celebration at the Upper Coonamessett River Wetland Restoration Complex brought together tribal leaders, agency staff, nonprofits, and community members to reflect on the project’s accomplishments and its broader meaning. The speakers emphasized that this effort represents not only the restoration of habitat but also a renewal of civic commitment to steward our shared landscapes for generations to come. The project was recognized with separate citations from the Massachusetts State Senate and House.

Glorianna and I installed 54 young trees at blocks 3 and 4 of the supplemental planting and monitoring project at upper Coonamessett yesterday (Sept 2, 2025). These trees represent the final plantings for this effort. From here out we will monitor tree growth, mortality, as well as soil moisture, and groundwater in the blocks. Tree guards and tree tags need to be added.

On a bright late-August day, our team returned to the newly restored Upper Coonamessett River Wetland Complex to take another important step in supporting a test planting Atlantic white cedar (AWC) cedar trees. This effort is part of Living Observatory’s collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration (DER) monitoring efforts, focused on linking age at planting and hydrology with plant survival in restored wetlands.

On June 17th the Nantucket Conservation Foundation hosted a celebratory tour for partners and funders of their recently completed Windswept Cranberry Bog wetland restoration. A walk through the property led by Karen Beattie of NCF, Michael Soares and Julie Busa of Fuss & O'Neill, and Travis Sumner of SumCo Eco-Contracting focused on the results of the work and collaboration of the many people and organizations who have worked tirelessly over the past few years to ensure this project’s success. Project partners joined from Mass DER, USFWS, EPA, SNEP, The Living Observatory, SumCo Eco-Contracting, Mass Audubon, and Restore America's Estuaries. The newly restored wetland was already greening up and the work completed the year prior was in full bloom. The Windswept Bog restoration is an exciting example of cranberry bog restoration and joins many successful projects completed across New England that are contributing to our collective knowledge of wetland restoration practices.

On May 3, we got our waders on and headed to the bogs. Students at Clark University spent the semester learning about soundscapes, how they are used to monitor habitat health, and how to process sound data to extract information about landscape acoustic complexity. The final stage was learning how to deploy the sensors, and what better way to do that than spending a day walking through nature at the Living Observatory sites of Eel River, Tidmarsh, and Foothills?

It has been a slow herring count season this year, so massive thanks to all those hardworking volunteers recording those important zero counts! Thus far, our volunteers have seen eight fish pass the second (iron) bridge - 5 fish on May 1st, and three single fish on May 12-16. We spoke to the Town of Plymouth, thinking there might be passage problems at White Horse Beach again, but it's clear, and the Town reports a slow year at Town Brook as well. One point for optimism is that the counts were low four years ago, in 2021, so this could be a less vigorous year class, and we might see a recovery next year. Keep counting - one week left!

Reports from the field