CR FY26 Grant Award & Project Updates

The Town of Salisbury will partner with Newbury and Newburyport on a long-term, regional planning effort to evaluate coastal erosion and sediment transport and the feasibility of shore protection strategies. The project will assess sitespecific protection options, including beach and dune nourishment and identification of potential nourishment sources.

Project Overview

Funding Program: Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM)
Award Year: 2026
Project Title: Upper North Shore Regional Shore Protection Strategy Development and Needs Assessment
Lead Partners: Salisbury, Newbury, Newburyport
Funding: $232,830

This project directly supports adaptation to climate impacts such as sea level rise, storm surge, and coastal erosion. It includes updated coastal modeling, shoreline change analysis, and evaluation of beach and dune nourishment strategies designed to buffer public infrastructure and natural resources. Alternatives will be assessed against sea level rise projections at 10-, 20-, and 50-year intervals. The project also identifies sustainable sediment sources, including beneficial reuse of dredged material. Through public engagement, it will build support for science-based resiliency solutions. The project proposes 2 public workshops pulling together stakeholders in coastal resiliency planning, a survey to collect additional comments outside of the workshop, and a regional website addressing coastal resiliency, increasing accessibility to the information generated through the grant process. In addition to science-based solutions, this project focuses on partnership and collaboration.

Goals

• Improve shoreline stability and dune protection
• Enhance coastal resilience and flood preparedness
• Protect habitat and natural systems
• Support regional planning and coordination
• Engage and inform the public

The project exemplifies local and regional partnerships by bringing together three municipalities for a regional project. The project also partners with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and utilizes the skills of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission to ensure the best reach and complete context of project materials. The project partner team is as follows:

• Lisa Pearson, Director of Planning and Development
• Adriane Marchand, Conservation Agent, Town of Salisbury
• Alison Sheehan, Administrative Assistant, Conservation and Grants
• Mason Ferrick, Newbury Conservation Agent
• Andrew Port, Newburyport Director of Planning
• Patrice Kish, DCR Chief, Design & Engineering
• Darryl Forgione, DCR Project Manager
• Hanna Mogensen, Environmental Program Coordinator & MassBays Regional Coordinator, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
• Sean Kelley, P.E., Senior Coastal Engineer (SCS)
• John Ramsey, Principal Coastal Engineer (SCS)

Documents

• Grant Application (PDF)
• Project Scope & Work Plan (PDF)
• Task 1 Presentation (PDF)
• Task 2 Presentation (PDF) - Task 2 Summary (PDF)

Project Updates

January 2026

• Grant awarded
• Initial coordination meetings held with partner towns

February 2026

• Site assessments and data collection underway
• Monthly check in meeting
• Website development
• MVPC meeting with Town Employees to discuss public workshops

March 2026

• Public information session scheduled