<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div><br></div><div apple-content-edited="true"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><p class="MsoNormal"><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Monday, August 29, 2016</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Media Contact: Lindsey B. Counsell, Exec. Dir.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="mailto:lcounsell@3bays.org">lcounsell@3bays.org</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>508-420-0780<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Three Bays Preservation Inc. Identifies Cause of
Rust Tide Throughout Estuary <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i> </i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(Osterville,
Mass.) – Three Bays Preservation Inc. has confirmed the principal cause of Rust
Tide, the worst algae bloom to hit North, Cotuit and West Bays in over two
decades, and one that has recently tinted the water a rusty red, and due to
resulting low oxygen has killed dozens of fish in the 1,251-acre estuary. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Although
other species of algae are present, the chief culprit of this summer’s
unwelcome bloom is a common saltwater microscopic organism, or plankton, called
a <b>dinoflagellate</b> <i>(Cochlodinium polykrikoides) </i>that can
quickly multiply or “bloom” in the upper water column. Several factors can nurture a bloom of this
magnitude including lack of rain and sustained sunny conditions and warm water
temperatures. All of these circumstances
and especially the high water temperatures were present in Three Bays and many
other estuaries throughout the region this summer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">“Our
findings have been confirmed by Dr. Brian Howes of UMass Dartmouth’s School for
Marine Science and Technology (SMAST,) as well as the Massachusetts Division of
Marine Fisheries,” according to Lindsey B. Counsell, executive director of
Three Bays Preservation Inc. Surveys
done by Dr. Christian Petitpas, also at UMass Dartmouth, have quantified the
distribution and number of this nuisance plankton throughout Three Bays.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Phytoplankton
blooms are prevalent throughout the region this summer, growing on nitrogen
leaching from local septic systems, fertilizers and other land based sources
that far exceed the state’s recommended threshold. Other pollutants that are adding stress to our
waters such as metals and hydrocarbons add to the problem and are known threats
to water quality, human health, and can be extremely toxic to fin and shellfish,
and plant life. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">“The
hopeful news is we have a comprehensive plan to restore the Three Bays,”
clarified Counsell. Three Bays advocates
both traditional—such as conventional sewers—and non-traditional methods, like
rain gardens that use native plants to filter rainwater piped from storm drains
before it flows into the bays, and ecological restoration projects that return
an impaired ecosystem to a healthy state. The restoration plan for historic
Mill Pond in Marstons Mills, for example, includes the removal of dense organic
sediment and an increase in nitrogen elimination that will be protective of the
receiving waters of Three Bays. Also, artificial floating wetlands are being
examined, that utilize plant roots to absorb and synthesize dissolved
nutrients.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">These
innovative technologies and many others are in the Town of Barnstable’s 208
Plan that Three Bays Preservation helped draft. Section 208 of the Clean Water Act requires
states and local governments to develop and implement plans to mitigate the
impacts of wastewater, improve water quality, and eliminate point source
discharges of pollutants. The so-called
Cape Cod 208 Plan focuses on a new watershed-based approach to ecosystem
restoration and was developed and drafted by the Cape Cod Commission.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Huge
algae blooms remain a vivid reminder of the tough shape our bays are in, and
the need for the implementation of the 208 Plan.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Chlorophylls
inside the bodies of this particular dinoflagellate make the animal red, in
turn tinting the water rusty.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">This naturally occurring algae blooms globally
but has been noticeably present in parts of the Chesapeake Bay and along the
East coast. Rust tide may not be harmful to humans, but it’s certainly not
inviting to swimmers, boaters and others who are winding up their summer with
recreational activities in the Three Bays. Once the rust tide dies and settles
to the bottom, it will join the other brownish masses of algae and it will
begin rotting on the shores, and “add to the brown muck that covers much of the
bottom of the bays and coves and can result in low oxygen and fish kills,”
Counsell reminded. This decaying algae also releases nitrogen back into the
water which further worsens the nutrient crisis in North, West and Cotuit Bays.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">* *<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="normal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Three Bays Preservation Inc. is
dedicated to restoring and protecting West, North and Cotuit Bays, and the
coves, ponds, rivers and streams that form our watershed and ecosystems. Since
1996, Three Bays Preservation Inc. has continued stewardship efforts through
applied science, educational programs, and ecosystem-based management
practices. To learn more, visit Three Bays Preservation online at </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.3bays.org">www.3bays.org</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">###<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment-->__________________<br>Theresa M. Barbo<br>Communications Consultant</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Author/Journalist</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><a href="http://theresambarbo.com">theresambarbo.com</a></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">&</div>Co-Principal/Marketing Advisor<br>The Mitchell Jones Agency</div><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><a href="http://themitchelljonesagency.com">themitchelljonesagency.com</a> <br>774.263.4219<br><br><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span><span><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br><br><br><br><br><br></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>
<br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">__________________<br>Theresa M. Barbo<br>Communications Consultant</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Author/Journalist</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><a href="http://theresambarbo.com">theresambarbo.com</a></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">&</div>Co-Principal/Marketing Advisor<br>The Mitchell Jones Agency</div><div style="orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><a href="http://themitchelljonesagency.com">themitchelljonesagency.com</a> <br>774.263.4219<br><br><br><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span><span><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br><br><br><br><br><br></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>
<br></body></html>