Duxbury Beach

Reports

Duxbury Beach operates under Orders of Condition that are issued by the Conservation Commission. The Reservation’s Technical Committee produced a beach management plan several years ago, which contains all the information needed to satisfy the requirements of the Orders of Condition. The Orders of Condition usually cover a three-year period. They are amended on an annual basis as needed.
The Technical Committee oversees the ecological aspects of maintaining the beach. In January of each year, the Committee submits to the Duxbury Conservation Commission a proposal of work that needs to be done to prepare the beach for summer. That proposal includes such items as grass planting, replacing snow fencing, fertilization, debris removal, and dune nourishment. The committee also oversees the Endangered Species Program, which the Reservation funds. The committee works with the state’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to prepare for the annual arrival of the piping plovers in April. Any and all preservation and restoration work on the beach must be approved by the Conservation Commission and completed before April 1. The piping plover season runs from April 1 to the end of August or whenever the last of the chicks has fledged. The Reservation funds the hiring of plover monitors, who guard the nests and the chicks until they fledge. During the years the Endangered Species Program has been in place, Duxbury Beach has continually had the highest fledge rates in the state.

Duxbury Beach Technical Committee

In the mid-1990s, the Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc. hired internationally known coastal geologists Peter Rosen and Duncan Fitzgerald to study whether SUVs were causing any damage to the beach. The study concluded that there were no ill effects. The Reservation has continued to use Rosen and Fitzgerald to record changes that occur on the beach every year. To do so, the Reservation selected eight locations along the beach and buried 16-foot long stainless steel rods to about 15 feet, leaving about 1 foot above the surface. Duncan and Fitzgerald use these rods to record both horizontal and vertical measurements from the low-water mark on the ocean side to the low-water mark on the bay side. Twice a year they plot the data and produce a profile of the beach. The following report represents their findings for 2007. Morphology and Costal Processes along Duxbury Beach during 2006- 2007

For many years, the Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc. has studied the geological changes along Duxbury Beach. Last year, the Reservation decided it also wanted to study the biological environment. It hired David Clapp, a well-known naturalist who recently retired as southeast regional director of Audubon, to perform a three-year study of the avian and plant populations on Duxbury Beach. In Clapp’s words, “the purpose of the information collection will be (1) to simply know what is out there, (2) to better understand the locations where activities are concentrated, (3) to provide information that will aid in management decisions and activities, and (4) to create a group of people with a geologic, biologic, and management interest in the beach. While he was collecting data, Clapp made the following observations about horseshoe crab egg-laying areas. Clapp’s complete first year report will be available in March and will be posted on the website.

Duxbury Beach Endangered Species report for Summer 2011 - Mass Audubon

Horseshoe Crabs and Birds by David Clapp

Massachusetts Piping Plover Census form for 2007

Massachusetts Tern Census form for 2007: 1, 2, 3, 4, Saquish

Beach Grass Planting 2007

Cobble Berm by Jim O'Connell

April 2007 Storm by Jim O'Connell

Audubon's 2008 report

Audubon's 2008 Beach nesting bird report

Wave Modeling Study by Peter S. Rosen and Duncan M. FitzGerald

2008 update of Morphology and Coastal Processes along Duxbury Beach by Peter S. Rosen and Duncan M. FitzGerald

Duxbury Beach Salt Marsh Restoration Feasibility Report by Epsilon Associates, Inc.