Welcome to Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA)!
The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA) advocates for the protection of our globally-rare ecoregion, the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens. An all-volunteer non-profit, SEMPBA develops educational materials, produces forums, monitors habitat and species. SEMPBA has a successful track record of winning local, state and federal grants, and distributes the vast majority of those funds to experts and established conservation entities who share their priorities and focus with us.
SEMPBA’s Community Conservation Center, located within Plymouth’s Center Hill Preserve, is open to the public and is often the site of conservation workshops, educational trail walks, and ongoing citizen science projects.
4th Fridays at Center Hill!
Local conservationists share their adventures and sips and dips in a cozy, friendly atmosphere at the beautiful Center Hill Preserve. March 4th Friday, featured Wildlife Rehabilitator JoAnn Byrnes and her rescue red tail hawk Coco.
Join us at the April 4th Friday (April 25, 2025) when Biologist Carlos Fragata will bring wetlands and vernal pools to the Center. Tickets available at Eventbrite.
The Sights and Sounds of Wetlands and Wildlife
Fri, Apr 25, 2025, 6:00 PM
SEMPBA Conservation Center • 158 Center Hill Road, Plymouth
This program is happening indoors.
H.898: AN ACT TO END THE TAKING OF HORSESHOE CRABS FOR BAIT
SEMPBA has filed Bill H.898. An Act to End the Taking of Horseshoe Crabs for Bait.
Horseshoe crab populations are in steep decline due to habitat loss and exploitation by both the bait and biomedical industries. In many areas, they are now functionally extinct. This loss doesn’t just impact the crabs—it disrupts the entire coastal ecosystem, including many commercially valuable fish species that rely on the food web horseshoe crabs help sustain.
Ending the bait harvest is a critical step toward giving horseshoe crabs—and the species that depend on them—a true chance to recover.
Horseshoe Crabs Need Your Help
Contact Your Legislators
Help protect these ancient creatures by asking your state representative and senator to co-sponsor and support Bill H.898—which would end the use of horseshoe crabs for bait in Massachusetts.
Resources to Take Action
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📝Letter Template—A ready-to-use letter you can personalize and send to your legislators (download Word doc.).
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📄 Info Sheet —Learn why ending the bait harvest is critical for the recovery of horseshoe crabs—and share it widely!
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📄Fact Sheet for Legislators —Clear, science-based facts to help inform policy decisions.
No Time to Call or Write? Sign Our Letter in 2 Seconds
Add your voice to our collective Letter to the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
🔗 View the Letter
To sign on, simply send:
- Your name
- Your organization (if applicable)
- Your city or town
📱 Text to: 617-449-8816
📧 Or email: [email protected]
Need Help or More Info?
Call or text Sharl at 617-449-8816 or email [email protected].
Thank you for helping give horseshoe crabs a future!
America the Beautiful Challenge Grant
SEMPBA is proud to be a partner in the America the Beautiful Challenge Grant, which was awarded to an alliance of conservation organizations led by the state’s Division of Fish & Wildlife and including Mass Audubon and Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance, is a four-year project that will undertake cranberry bog restorations and habitat management efforts in Plymouth, Wareham, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Barnstable.
The ecoregion itself encompasses the southern borders of Kingston and Duxbury, stretching south and east to include Plymouth, Wareham, Bourne, Rochester, Mattapoisett, and Marion, and all of Cape Cod and the Islands.
PHOTO CONTEST!
Locally-Found, Globally-Rare—Your Photographs of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens
We are seeking local photographers of all ages: submit to our photo contest! South Eastern Mass (including the Cape and Islands) is home to the Coastal Pine Barrens ecoregion: a globally-rare system of plants and animals right in our backyards! From now to June 1st, we invite photographers to submit their photos of the natural beauty of this area for a chance to be displayed at Plymouth Public Library and win prizes courtesy of Mass Audubon and the South East Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA).
Additionally, you’ll be contributing to the documentation and conservation of our pine barrens. Full contest rules and entry form may be found at the link below. Let’s capture the diversity and beauty of our incredible home!
For more information see: THE CALL FOR PHOTOS—Locally-Found, Globally-Rare—Your Photographs of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens.
Submit Photos Online at https://bit.ly/4l9nctj
or scan the QR Code
SEMPBA and DCR Seasonal Forestry Internship
SEMPBA is proud to be in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to provide a paid internship designed to inspire careers in the fields of consulting forestry, service forestry, forest health and environmental advocacy.
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SEMPBA is everywhere—doing everything we can to save the Coastal Pine Barrens!
Regional Collaboration
SEMPBA is proud to serve as coordinators for the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens Partnership, one of 47 Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs) in the Northeastern United States.
Link to the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens Partnership website
Research
SEMPBA volunteers participate in a range of research projects, including studying saltwater intrusion into Plymouth's groundwater, engaging citizens in regional climate change mitigation and preparedness, and contributing to various citizen science initiatives. There’s plenty of room for you and your ideas—join us in making a difference!
The Center @ Center Hill Preserve
Our Climate and Nature Center, nestled within the stunning Center Hill Preserve, showcases at least eight diverse natural communities—from beach to forest and everything in between—making it an exceptional site for nature education. We welcome schools, conservation groups, nature enthusiasts, and visitors of all kinds to explore the preserve. What you discover may inspire you—just as it has inspired SEMPBA volunteers—to take action in preserving our Coastal Pine Barrens!
Proud of Our Accomplishments!
A small, all volunteer organization doing great things.
Join our 2025 Annual Horseshoe Crab Survey
Every spring, Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) return to the beaches of the U.S. East Coast to mate and, in the case of females, lay tens of thousands of eggs.
The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA) will once again participate in the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MDMF) Spawning Horseshoe Crab Survey on Plymouth’s Long Beach. The information we compile is used by the MDMF, along with data from other sites around the Commonwealth, to help determine horseshoe crab fishing and management regulations.
Contact SEMPBA ([email protected]) to learn how you can become involved.
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness
Subterranean Resilience: Predicting, Assessing and Mitigating Saltwater Intrusion is a first-of-its-kind evaluation of the community’s susceptibility to saltwater intrusion, undertaken by researchers from the UMass-Amherst School of Earth and Sustainability, and a dozen local non-profit environmental and civic organizations who undertook a parallel program to raise awareness of climate resiliency issues regarding water quality. The grant also allowed for the creation of two legacy elements: the establishment of a community water testing station, and the creation of ‘One Water,’ an ongoing digital chronicle of local water-related projects and programs.
FINAL REPORT: Saltwater Intrusion Vulnerability Assessment in Plymouth, MA Compounding Effects of Sea Level Rise on Water Quality and Aquifer Sustainability, by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Hydrogeology Group Alexander Kirshen, Carly Lombardo, David Boutt, Daniel Corkran, Brendan Moran, & Rachel King. October 2023.
Click here to access the plant guide.
This native plant guide was funded in part by a Landscape Scale Restoration grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
The SEMPBA Community Conservation Center is located at the beautiful Center Hill Preserve, 158 Center Hill Road, Plymouth, MA.
Phone 774-773-9982; Email Sharl at [email protected].
