Weir River Estuary Committee

Meetings

  • 7 p.m.
  • Dates to be announced
  • Town Hall
    41 Highland Avenue
    Cohasset, MA 02025

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.
View Most Recent Agendas and Minutes
Members Email Position Town
Richard Avery rjaverycoh@aol.com Co-Chair Cohasset
Thomas E Bell     Cohasset
Faith L. Burbank fburbank@verizon.net Co-Chair Hingham
Judeth Van Hamm hullportside@earthlink.net Co-Chair Hull
Patricia Coyle   Member Hingham
Courtney Mullin   Member  Hull
Scott Plympton   Member Hull

Contact Information

The Weir River Estuary Committee may be contacted through the through the Selectmen's Office at 781-383-4105.

Background

The Weir River Estuary was designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) in 1986, recognizing that its 17 miles of shoreline as one of the largest salt marsh ecosystems in the Boston Harbor area. The Weir River Estuary is an area with 922 acres of open water and extensive salt marsh grasses and aquatic vegetation which provides a food source for more than 100 species of resident and migrating birds; in this same area there are clam flats which account for 17% of the total clams harvested within Boston Harbor.

The concept of the Weir River Estuary Park began in the early 1990s, and by 2002 the Weir River Estuary Park was formalized as a tri-town committee consisting of Cohasset, Hingham, and Hull. The overall plan and vision of this area is not to halt the growth, but to manage the land at a sustainable pace and to provide a balance of open space, healthy land and water habitats, and a provide an area for low impact recreational opportunities. The protection of land and water quality with the implementation of this plan will be accomplished through the cooperation of willing land owners, environmental enforcement, and citizen stewards - help keep our vision of the Weir River Estuary as "Forever Wild."

Goals

  • Preserve the rare and idyllic setting and integrity of the landscape
  • Expand public access and low impact (no wake zone) recreational opportunities
  • Protect the historical and geological integrity
  • Protect and restore natural resources and the biological diversity
  • Conserve a contiguous corridor of open space and healthy habitats
  • Develop educational opportunities and foster stewardship
  • Establish community support for land and estuarine habitat protection, along with maintaining relationships with Town Selectmen, Conservation Commissions, Planning Boards, and Advisory, Open Space, and Harbor Committees, Local Land Trusts, Land Preservation Organizations, and related regional, state, and federal agencies