Metropolitan Beaches Update: Tough Winter on the Beach

It was a brutal winter in Massachusetts this year, with two wicked bad storms hitting at wicked high tides in quick succession. While our memories of the snow may be melting as the sun comes out, the beaches aren't able to bounce back so quickly. Waves washed away literal tons of sand from the beach and the sand dunes. Debris and trash washed up with flood waters and remains scattered along the beaches. Infrastructure was damaged up and down the coast, in some cases potentially beyond repair.

The state of the beaches as we begin the summer was recently detailed in a piece in the Boston Globe which you can read here.

Article in the May 23rd edition of the Boston Globe

As beaches are opening this Memorial Day weekend for summer recreation, beachgoers will see how much has changed after just one winter of extreme weather. State agencies, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and local officials are working diligently to prepare the beaches for the summer. As Bruce Berman, Director of Strategy and Communications at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay recently said in an interview on Radio Boston, "It's because of the passion and commitment of the staff at the parks agencies, the beaches are going to be in the best shape they can be with the resources we have after the winter we had."

Even so, long-term strategic planning is necessary to protect these important resources. The Metropolitan Beaches Commission will be contributing to that process during its next hearing on Monday June 18th, where they will discuss the impact of these winter storms on the waterfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket, and plan for the summer and summers ahead. If you are interested in attending that public hearing, you can join us at the Massachusetts Statehouse in Room 222 on June 18th from 2-4pm.

"Water quality is really improved up and down the coast," added Berman "What I'd say to people is have a really good time at the beach. But I would also suggest that they get involved, join their local beach friends group, or volunteer for park serve day, whatever they can. Do what they can to not only enjoy their beach and share their beach but to take care of their beach."