Historic Boston Harbor Islands Cleanup Completed

A group disposed of collected debris into large bags. Photo/Center for Coastal Studies

A major and historic trash-removal operation has wrapped up on the outer islands of Boston Harbor. The massive cleanup operation was focused on Great Brewster, Middle Brewster, Outer Brewster, Calf, and Lovells islands, and involved a collaboration by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boston Harbor Islands State & National Parks, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR), Center for Coastal Studies (CCS), and Boston Harbor Now (BHN).

Two volunteers discuss this area of the cleanup. Photo/Center for Coastal Studies

The CCS mobilized its Beach Brigade volunteers for the week-long operation, setting up camp on Peddocks Island from September 15 to 22. The volunteers worked with DCR to deploy trash-removal teams on each island during the week-long operation. The outer islands are rugged and difficult to access, and have long been littered with tons of debris, including lobster traps, plastic bottles, metal wreckage, fish totes, nets, floats, dock timbers, and foam.

The cleanup operation was the culmination of nearly two years of planning, with the common goals of helping to restore critical coastal bird nesting areas and enhancing the overall ecological health of the Islands. The project will also help revitalize recreational areas on the Islands and ensure their sustainability for future generations, according to the Center for Coastal Studies.

The cleanup operation was funded by several sources, including a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Grant with funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. The $2.7 million grant was awarded to CCS for a multi-year coastal cleanup project, a portion of which was used for the Boston Harbor Islands project. In addition to the CCS grant funding, DCR provided $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and an additional $35,000 from DCR’s operational budget to cover the cost of the commercial vessels and heavy-equipment rental to remove and transport industrial debris.

The USFWS provided $80,000 through its Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration program on behalf of the natural resource Trustees for the Bouchard B-120 oil spill to help facilitate the volunteer cleanups including costs of transportation and future monitoring of the project’s benefits to the nesting habitat of coastal bird species.