Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. has announced $200,000 in federal funding awards through the Massachusetts Bays Program Research and Planning Grants.

The grants will be used to fund projects in Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay aimed at identifying causes of coastal habitat degradation, developing plans to address coastal water-quality pollution issues, and/or building local capacity to protect coastal resources.

The awards, offered for the first time, will be awarded to the following municipalities, non-profits and academic institutions:

• The town of Kingston to identify and address sources of polluted storm water runoff to Kingston Bay: $14,795
• The Jones River Watershed Association to develop a restoration plan for the Stony Brook/Tussock Brook Salt Marsh complex: $12,510
• The town of Ipswich to develop a Resource Management Plan for the Great Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern: $16,284
• The Massachusetts Audubon Society for its ongoing work to restore oyster reef habitat in the town of Wellfleet: $19,529
• The town of Salisbury to develop improved local storm water policies: $40,000
• A partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to develop guidelines for shellfish bed restoration initiatives: $40,000
• The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen Association to create a River Herring Warden Network for Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts: $15,000
• The invasion of the Great Marsh on Massachusetts’ North Shore by the Common Reed (Phragmites australis): $39,922

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