This multi-million dollar project involving several municipal and state agencies will restore 57.2 acres of former cranberry bog wetlands and replace undersized crossings at Weir Road and North Dennis Road to improve water flow, reduce erosion and nitrogen pollution, and revive historic fish habitat. 

Long overdue project catalyzes an evaluation done by the Army Corps of Engineers several decades ago to replace the blocked, undersized drainage pipe with a new 900-foot box culvert to restore tidal flow, reduce nutrient buildup and algae blooms, and improve water quality in the most impaired pond connected to Bass River.

At Packet Landing, the FoBR raises juvenile scallops in a protected nursery before releasing them into Bass River to rebuild a once-abundant native population, strengthen the estuary’s ecology, and support future shellfishing. With your support, our goal is to reintroduce over ONE MILLION mature scallops into Bass River in only five years.

The FoBR team monitors sites throughout Bass River, collecting consistent scientific data on dissolved oxygen and other key indicators to track the river’s health, identify emerging problems, and guide restoration priorities.

With the State of Massachusetts DEP the FoBR is evaluating nature-based thin layer restoration solutions to rebuild deteriorating salt marsh, strengthen wildlife habitat, and protect the Bass River shoreline from rising seas, storms, and erosion.

Studying untreated highway runoff entering the upper river and testing filtration systems that could reduce pollution before it reaches the estuary.

The Youth Estuary Education Program gives Dennis-Yarmouth students hands-on experience with water quality, salt-marsh ecology, shellfishing, watershed science, and the cultural history of Bass River.

Developing a living-shoreline strategy to stabilize eroding riverbanks, protect marsh habitat, and reduce the movement of sediment into Kelley’s Bay and the Bass River navigation channel.