Interested in taking action to protect horseshoe crabs in Massachusetts? Migrating shorebirds depend on their eggs for critical migration fuel and there are multiple ways you can get involved as a concerned citizen:

Take action today!
Share comments on a current proposal to list the Horseshoe Crab as a Species of Special Concern
Comments are due by April 23rd at 5pm and may be sent via email to susan.sacco@mass.gov to the attention of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board
Participate in the proposal to close Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury Bays to the Horseshoe Crab Take
Contact the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (contact: Sharl Heller)

Ways to get involved:

Massachusetts Horseshoe Crab Collaborative
Visit their website to learn more and join over 2,000 Massachusetts residents who have gone on record as wanting an end to taking horseshoe crabs for bait, even as they come ashore to spawn. Also visit their facebook page or contact Sharl Heller at the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance.
Manomet
See their website and examples of their critical work with horseshoe crabs. Volunteer, make a donation, and more.
Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition
Visit their website to learn more and take action.

Resources to learn more: (curated by the MA Horseshoe Crab Collaborative)
When the Horseshoe Crabs are Gone, We’ll Be in Trouble. Deborah Cramer, The New York Times.
Horseshoe crabs have roamed the planet for 450 million years, but they could be running out of time, Renée Loth, Boston Globe.​
The Horseshoe Crab Saved Us. Can We Save the Horseshoe Crab? I am BIO Podcast.
– Connecticut’s 2023 elimination of horseshoe crab commercial harvests and Governor Lamont’s call for neighboring states “to join this growing coalition and enact similar laws to protect the population in their waters.”
– Fishermen capturing spawning horseshoe crabs—Horseshoe Crab Capture: Video by Raymond MacDonald.​

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Upcoming Field Trips

Lake Umbagog & Region, NH

New Hampshire - Lake Umbagog Region NH, United States

WAIT LIST ONLY   OVERNIGHT TRIPS IN JUNE 2024 Umbagog and Region, New Hampshire. This trip is offered twice in early June. We visit Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, and journey to Dixville Notch for boreal species. Possible sightings include Black-backed  Woodpecker, Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee, 20+ species of breeding warblers, and nesting ducks. We [...]

Mount Holyoke to the Quabbin

Hadley - Skinner State Park 99 Old Mountain Rd, Hadley, MA, United States

Join us for a series of short hikes as we search for Cerulean Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, and Alder Flycatcher. Time will also be taken to enjoy the flora and fauna along the way.

Gore Place, Waltham

Watertown - Gore Place 52 Gore Street, Waltham, MA, United States

We will walk around the farm fields and gardens at the Gore Place then venture across Waltham Street to adjacent conservation land. Free for BBC and Gore Place members. Preregistration required at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=228497

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East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United States

Led by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with [...]

Mass. Audubon Boston Nature Center

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