The Buzzards Bay Coalition announced that it has acquired for conservation 10 acres of valuable waterfront land spanning both sides of the Weweantic River on Thursday.

This action permanently safeguards the land from development, which supports crucial wildlife habitat and natural areas that filter pollution, and protects Buzzards Bay.

This conservation action is part of the "Weweantic River Corridor Project," a Bay-focused strategy to protect important land along the lower Weweantic River that the Bay Coalition is advancing with the Wareham Land Trust, the Town, and other partners.

In addition to already-conserved land upriver, this acquisition connects a gap between the Wareham Conservation Commission’s 20-acre Birch Island Conservation Area and the Wildlands Trust’s 23-acre Conant Hill Conservation Area.

The project was funded with grants from federal and state agencies and the Sheehan Family Foundation.

“This is a significant milestone in conservation for the Buzzards Bay watershed that will benefit a unique group of fish and other river and Bay resources,” said Brendan Annett, Vice-President of Watershed Protection for the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

“It is also a very interesting part of the Bay to visit and learn how a bay estuary works.  This project will help open this unique spot to the community for both recreation and educational opportunities.”

The property also includes streamside forests and a rare stretch of tidal fresh water that holds great potential to improve the river system for herring, eels, smelt and other migrating fish species.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its watershed.

The organization works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research and advocacy and is supported by more than 8,500 members.

For more information about the Buzzards Bay Coalition, please visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org.