Good Harbor Beach: Introduction

“If you look closely at Good Harbor, you can see a thriving organism, with vegetation, fish, and birds spreading in all directions through the watershed. This is an ecosystem that is rich in variation, and it's all interconnected.”—Denton Crews, 2022, Trustee at Friends of Good Harbor Beach¹

This case study explores Cape Ann's Beach Landscapes through the Good Harbor Beach site. The analysis is informed by existing reports and resources that have been written to describe and understand Good Harbor Beach.

The research consists of an analysis of Good Harbor's habitats as interconnected systems, a list of existing species, and an exploration of the landscape's changes over time.

The analysis informs the recommendations made in the next section, Beach Scenario Plans.

Habitats

“The geologic history of Good Harbor is around 400 million years old, but the present shoreline only began around 10,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. Before then, the shoreline was about sixteen meters further out to sea.”—Mary Ellen Lepionka, 2022, Independent Historian on the Indigenous History of Essex County²

Good Harbor Ecosystem Composition

The Good Harbor Ecosystem is comprised of different terrestrial, estuarine, and marine habitats. Each of these habitats hosts flora and fauna that have evolved to survive in these environments. These descriptions are elaborated in an overview of existing literature at Good Harbor Beach in the subsection, Changes.

This subsection explores Good Harbor's habitats as individual components, noting their dominant species and the percentage of the area they occupy. While this analysis is beneficial, it is important to remember that Good Harbor's habitats are interconnected and impact one another. For example, while some specialist species, like the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudata), may spend their entire life cycle in a single habitat, other species, like alewive fish, move across different habitats at different life stages.

 

Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean laps, swells, and occasionally crashes onto Good Harbor Beach. Good Harbor is a part of the Gulf of Maine, a notably cold semi-enclosed body of water that connects Cape Ann to the global ocean. At Good Harbor, the average water temperature during the coldest month, March, is 39.6°F. In August, the warmest month, the average water temperature is just 66.9°F.³ The tidal ranges vary dramatically at Good Harbor, from seven to twelve feet depending on the phase of the moon. Boreal species, including wrack seaweed (Fucus sp.), surf clams, and Atlantic jackknife clams live in subtidal areas at Good Harbor. Fish including summer flounder and striped bass are found close to shore. The Double-breasted Cormorant and Herring Gull dive into the waves around Good Harbor to fish. Diadromous fish species, including alewives, that are born in the Good Harbor marsh system swim to the ocean, where they become part of marine fisheries.

The Gulf of Maine, including the ocean surrounding Good Harbor, has been overharvested by fishing fleets since the 1800s. Sea surface temperatures have also risen 3°F since 1900. Additionally, nitrogen fertilizers and chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) run off lawns into the ocean. Litter left on Good Harbor Beach is an ongoing problem as non-biodegradable trash gets swept into the ocean at high tide.

 

Rocky Intertidal: 1.8%

Several areas at Good Harbor Beach are considered to be rocky intertidal zones: along the perimeter of Salt Island, along Bass Rocks, and Brier Neck. These globally scarce habitats are determined based on saltwater inundation: the splash zone with limited vegetation, the high tide zone with barnacles and perimwinkles, the black-green algae zone with rockweed and bladderwrack, and the low-tide zone with kelp and benthic invertebrates. The ecosystems support blue mussels(Mytilus edulis) and fish including the fourspine stickleback and cunner, as well as birds including Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), Sandpipers, and Plovers that feed in the rock intertidal habitat and roost in the zone at high tide.⁴

Increasing sea surface temperatures and declining water quality from pollution and chemical contamination have resulted in declining mussels and periwinkles across the world, including the Good Harbor ecosystem. The decline of these species threatens the birds that feed on them during low tide. Additionally, these species are threatened by increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in global oceans, which slows the rate of shell calcification.⁵

 

Tidal Creek: 8.2%

Good Harbor Creek is a tidal creek that during high tide, flows through the marsh behind the foredune through several culverts toward Gloucester's Inner Harbor, which was historically connected to Good Harbor Beach. The Creek supports alewives and herring, and is a refuge for Piping Plover chicks who seek refuge from human disturbances on the beach and feed on islands in the middle of the creek.

Today, due to sea-level rise, the upper reaches of the creek are no longer brackish, and mudflats are replacing low marsh areas. By 2012, the banks along Good Harbor Creek had collapsed due to sea level rise or erosion. Development through and over the creek—ranging from the bridge across Thatcher Road to the septic system and wastewater pipes—has degraded water quality in the creek. The creek has been closed to swimming during summer in recent years due to high levels of Enterococcus bacteria. By 2070, the Tidal Creek will have significantly widened, with increased water levels, and greater tidal exchange. The tidal flats bordering the Creek will similarly expand.⁶
 

Beach: 16.2%

Good Harbor is a sandy spit beach that is connected to the mainland on one side. The beach at Good Harbor has eroded over past years. Historical photographs and data show how the high water shoreline has retreated by almost two hundred feet since 1884. The beach also includes a tombolo that is accessible at low tide to cross to Salt Island. Surfers use the beach during the winter and mornings during the spring and autumn months. By 2070, the Good Harbor Beach is expected to narrow significantly due to sea level rise and coastal erosion.⁷

 

Dune: 5.1%

The Good Harbor dunes are habitat for migrating neotropical birds. The dune system is stabilized by vascular plants, particularly American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) and is home to threatened Piping Plovers that nest in the dunes, and have been increasingly threatened by dogs and dune trampling. Sandpipers also rely on dune habitat to feed.

The foredune was eroded by eight to ten feet across its entire length during the Perfect Storm in 1991. Winter nor'easters have eroded the dune profile, which changes during the summer and winter seasons, as sand is deposited offshore during the winter to protect from larger swells,and blows inland during the summer. Similar barrier beach ecosystems see greater shifts throughout the year, but vegetation has stabilized the Good Harbor foredune. The dune system will continue to erode gradually over time unless additional sand is placed on the beach in a process called renourishment that has been undertaken at Good Harbor previously.

 

Low Marsh: 15.8%

Marshes have zones of vegetation based on elevation and salt water inundation. Saltmarshes are one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on the planet, due to the amount of detritus that is produced by cordgrasses. Low marsh areas are regularly inundated. Low marsh areas are dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), a tall species that grows from the spring until autumn before going dormant during the winter months. Bacteria decompose dead cordgrass, which are then consumed again by bacteria and fungi, and then reconsumed by worms, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and other fish. Saltmarshes, therefore, are the base of the marine ecosystem.⁸ Low marsh areas support shellfish including soft-shell clams at Good Harbor, as well as invasive European green crabs that consume smooth cordgrass. Raptors hunt throughout low marsh areas, as they are attracted to the smaller organisms in the marsh.

 

High Marsh: 19.5%

High marsh areas are dominated by saltmarsh hay (Spartina patens), the historic backbone of the colonial agricultural economy. In high marsh areas, the accretion of dead grasses accumulates to form peat banks. The borders of high marsh areas are host to invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis) in areas with limited saltwater flow due to tidal obstructions, including culverts. High marsh is home to critical bird species including Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudata), which are obligate species, meaning they breed and feed in saltmarsh habitats.

As sea levels rise, high marsh is observed transitioning to low marsh, which is more frequently inundated. Conversions from high marsh to low marsh will reduce high marsh habitat to just 36 acres across all of Gloucester by 2070. There is not expected to be any remaining high marsh areas at Good Harbor, contributing to the extinction of the obligate Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudata), and harming other wetland dependent bird species.⁹

 

Scrub and Shrubland: 7.2%

The border of saltmarsh lands includes transitional scrub and shrubland, including species like saltmarsh elder, sea lavender, and false foxgloves. Transitional vegetation that is not inundated by salt water includes cattails (Typha sp.) in inland areas as well as marginal woody vegetation like staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina).

As high marsh areas transition to low marsh areas, these species, which cannot tolerate brackish conditions, will be threatened. Phragmites (Phragmites australis), which tolerates low salinity, will increase in these areas.

 

Maritime Forest: 13.8%

The dunes at Good Harbor Beach supported pitch pines before they were logged by colonists in the 1700s. Today, the upper reaches of the marsh and Salt Island include maritime forest habitat that is habitat for migrating bird species. Salt Island is privately owned and goats have been introduced to control poison ivy growth, but threaten other plant species.

 
 
 

Impervious Surfaces: 12.1%

These surfaces include the beach parking lot, Thatcher Road, the Stop and Shop Plaza complex, as well as roofs and driveways in the surrounding residential areas.

These surfaces do not allow water to permeate into the soil. Stormwater, pesticides from lawns, and polluted runoff flow across these surfaces into the ecosystem, carrying pollutants through the Good Harbor Creek into the ocean.

 
 
 

Good Harbor's habitats are interlinked. Their ecological health is dependent on the health of the system as a whole.

Species

These species spend all or part of their life cycles at Good Harbor Beach. This is not an exhaustive list. Rather, these species are a lens to understand the interspecies relationships, habitat degradation, and challenges for stakeholders to restore the ecosystem.

Birds
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) *Vulnerable
Acadian Nelson's Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
*Threatened in MA
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Double-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Eastern Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Vascular Plants
Saltmarsh false foxglove (Agalinis maritima)
Common orach (Atriplex patula)
Common Eelgrass (Zostera marina)
*native but damaged and removed
Seashore saltgrass (Distichlis spicata)
Sea couch grass (Elymus pumgens)
Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus)
High tide bush (Iva frutescens)
Salt marsh rush (Juncus gerardii)
Carolina sea lavender (Limonium nashii)
Sea milkwort (Lysimachia maritima)
Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica)
Phragmites (Phragmites australis)
*non-native but dominant
Pitch pine (Pinus rigida)
*logged by 1757

Sea plantain (Plantago maritima)
Rockweed (Fucus distichus)
Beach plum (Prunus maritima)
Seashore alkali grass (Puccinellia maritima)
Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)
Saltspray rose (Rosa rugosa)
*non-native but naturalized
Glasswort (Salicornia europaea)
Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)
Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)
Saltmarsh hay (Spartina patens)
Sea blite (Suaeda linearis)
Seaside arrowgrass (Triglochin maritimum)
Stiff-leaf quackgrass (Thinopyrum pungens)

Crustaceans
Northern rock barnacle (Balanus balanoides)
Jonah crab (Cancer borealis)
Eastern green crab (Carcinus maenas)
Sand shrimp (Crangon vulgaris)
Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus)

Insects
Mosquito (Aedes vexans)

Mollusks
Atlantic jackknife clam (Ensis leei)\ Common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
Coffee-bean snail (Melampus bidentatus)
Soft-shell clam (Mya edularia)
Blue mussel (Mytulis edulis)
Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima)\

Mammals
Human (Homo sapiens)
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)

Fish
Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)
Fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus)
Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
Striped killifish (Fundulus majalis)
Striped bass (Morone saxatilis)
Smelt (Osmeridae sp.)
Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus)
Ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius)
Cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus)\

Changes

“Over the past thousand years the Pawtucket or Agawam People came to the Creek, which used to be called Little Harbor River. They got quahogs, surf clams, and gathered horseshoe crabs. They trapped herring on the beach and other fish in the channel between Salt Island and Brier Neck. They hunted seals on the rocks and raided rookeries for seabirds and feathers, and fished up to two miles out to sea.” —Mary Ellen Lepionka, 2022, Independent Historian on the Indigenous History of Essex County²

The Good Harbor marsh system is in the North Coastal Watershed and fed by the Good Harbor Creek. The marsh system and beach watershed are 1,060 acres including six sub-watersheds. The marsh is comprised of the twenty acre northerly marsh system above Thatcher Road and the forty-five acre southerly marsh system downstream of Thatcher Road. The northerly system is bounded by developed areas including Witham Street, Beachcroft Road, and Old Nugent Farm.¹⁰ The beach is a barrier spit beach, meaning that is connected to land at one side.¹¹

Sea-Level Rise

Sea-level rise is already impacting Good Harbor Beach and will continue to present challenges. Good Harbor and other beaches along the coast are changing and have been eroding over time. Historical photographs and quantitative data show that the high water shoreline has retreated by almost two hundred feet since 1884.¹² Beaches along the coastline are inherently dynamic systems, yet the current rate of sea-level rise will transform beach configurations. Coastal armoring structures are preventing beach migration. As a result, some beaches will disappear, other will substantially change in shape, and new beaches may appear elsewhere. Investing heavily in preserving beaches in their current states may not be a sustainable strategy.¹³

The impacts of climate change at Good Harbor have been studied broadly, with a particular focus on sea-level rise. The Good Harbor Marsh is particularly vulnerable due to its placement between the open ocean and human development that limits marsh migration. The change in topography behind Good Harbor beach further limits the ability of the marsh and beach to migrate inland. A 2015 report found that there is already loss of habitat at Good Harbor Beach. The saltmarsh at Good Harbor has insignificant high marsh remaining, indicating a breakdown of biodiversity in the marsh system. By 2070, the Good Harbor barrier beach will narrow significantly. The marsh behind the creek will become regularly flooded low marsh with expanded tidal flats and larger tidal creeks. There could also be potential loss of surrounding upland areas to marsh, particularly in the Stop and Shop and CVS complex, if those areas were not paved and were allowed to convert to marshland. The protective aspects of the marsh, including its ability to buffer wave energy, will be reduced substantially by 2070. Storm surge will more easily roll through degraded and low marsh areas to impact upland infrastructure.¹⁴,¹⁵

Threatened Beach Species

The Good Harbor coastal beach and dune habitat are exposed to some of the most extreme weather conditions along the coastline, and the most persistent erosion forces. The maritime beach strand community, including bare sand and beach grass also includes beach pea and seaside goldenrod at Good Harbor Beach. The beach is exposed to two daily tide changes, the constant pressure of wind and blowing sand, unshaded sun, and salt spray. These agents impact the vegetation and animal communities inland during storms, including habitat of the threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus).

A single pair of Piping Plovers have been breeding at Good Harbor Beach since 2016. The pair bred three chicks in 2022. The birds arrive in early spring at Good Harbor Beach, and have been documented arriving earlier each year by local resident Kim Smith, head of the Piping Plovers Association. Plovers preferred habitat is gently sloping shoreline with sparse vegetation. Plovers scoop holes in sand dunes and lay their eggs there. At the beginning of the breeding season, during nest selection, egg laying, and incubation, Plovers are extremely sensitive to human disturbances. They are vulnerable to dogs, storms and large waves, and foot traffic over their nests.¹⁶ Various efforts have been enacted at Good Harbor to protect the plovers, including a ban on dogs on the beach after March 31st, signs, and monitoring by civilian groups in partnership with the Gloucester Department of Public Works.¹⁷

Good Harbor Beach is defined as Core Habitat, or “area that is critical for the long-term persistence of rare species, exemplary natural communities, and resilient ecosystems across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” by the BioMap initiative due to the presence of the Plovers, and other rare species.¹⁸ In addition to the ecosystem’s designation as Core Habitat, the Good Harbor beach and marsh are designated Critical Natural Landscapes. Critical Natural Landscapes are “large landscape blocks that are minimally impacted by development, as well as buffers to core habitats and coastal areas, both of which enhance connectivity and resilience.”¹⁹

Dune Habitat Degradation

Despite these designations, the Good Harbor ecosystem, including plover habitat is threatened by the degradation of the dune system. The foredune is formed by wind blowing sand landward from the beach. The foredune remains stationary in relationship to the beach, with the sand held in place by American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata). Less salt-tolerant shrubs and grasses grow on the top and back of the dune.

Dune Habitat

The profile of the dune system changes minimally during winter and summer, which is unusual for foredunes in similar settings. In summer, sand accumulates along the front of the foredune, and is stabilized by beachgrass. The height of the foredune system has decreased over time due to winter storms, particularly the Perfect Storm of 1991, which eroded several tens of feet of the dune across its length.²⁰ The degrading dune system poses a threat to animals inland of the beach in the Saratoga Marsh complex. Overwash during storms deposits additional substrate onto marsh areas. Some of this overwash, as well as additional debris from beach cleaning, including wrack, has been deposited into a berm at the back of the parking lot.²¹ This material can change microhabitats, destroy nursery and spawning areas, and change marsh hydrology and bathymetry. Species that are interdependent, including birds and mammals, can also be adversely affected.

Disposing of dredge and waste materials in benthic areas has a similar effect in altering the marine environment.²² The erosion of the dune system will continue due to sea-level rise. There is currently space for the dune to migrate back into the marsh. However, at some point in the distant future, the saltmarsh will narrow until the sand spit erodes into the slowly eroding inland granite.²³ The saltmarsh provides critical habitat for birds, crustaceans, and fish species. Similar to the beach, the marsh system is already changing due to sea-level rise, bank collapse, restrictions on tidal flow, and species composition.

Ocean Fish Species

Threatened Marsh Species

Vegetation composition in saltmarshes, including Saratoga Marsh inland of Good Harbor Beach, is determined by elevation, salinity, and inundation frequency. Low marsh areas are dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Smooth cordgrass is tall, growing up to eight feet high. High marsh areas are dominated by saltmarsh hay (Spartina patens), which is less flood-tolerant and much shorter, growing one to two feet high. Saltmarsh hay can be recognized by its “cow lick” appearance due to daily inundation over the grass. Saltmarsh hay formed a key component of the colonial economy on Cape Ann, when it was harvested and used as winter forage for cattle.

In addition to smooth cordgrass and saltmarsh hay, Salem Sound Coastwatch. surveyed additional species across transects in 2005 and 2012. The species observed in 2005 include: High tide bush (Iva frutescens), sea couch grass (Elmyus pumgens), common orach (Atriplex patula), seashore saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), saltmarsh rush (Juncus gerardii), carolina sea lavender (Limonium nashii), seashore alkali grass (Puccinella maritma), glasswort (Salicornia europaea), goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens), smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), saltmarsh hay (Spartina patens), sea plantain (Plantago maritima), and sea blite (Suaeda linearis). Upstream marshes included sixteen species like: saltmarsh false foxglove (Agalinis maritima), stiff-leaf quackgrass (Thinopyrum pungens), creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), sea milkwort (Lysimachia maritima), and seaside arrowgrass (Triglochin maritimum).

In 2005, the transects through the marsh did not include any invasive species.²⁴ By 2012, Phragmites (Phragmites australis) was found in transects through the marsh in upland areas and around Thatcher Road. Phragmites forms dense monocultures that shade out other species, and supports fewer populations of other fauna species in areas where salinity levels are less than twenty parts per thousand.

Marsh Habitats

In addition to marsh plant species, vegetation that grows in salt pannes are found at Good Harbor. Salt pannes are created in areas that are irregularly flooded in high marshes. These shallow pools are only flooded during high tides, increasing salt levels to a point that most plant species cannot stand. Saltmarsh false foxglove (Agalinis maritima), sea milkwort (Lysimachia maritima), glasswort (Salicornia europaea), and seaside arrowgrass (Triglochin maritimum) were found in 2012. Sandy areas along creek banks included stiff-leaf quackgrass (Thinopyrum pungens). Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) and seashore alkali grass (Puccinellia maritima) are found in irregularly flooded brackish and tidal fresh marshes.²⁵ By 2015, there had been a loss of high marsh bush (Iva frutescens) in the upper marsh and a reduction in high marsh grass (Spartina patens) from 50% of plant coverage to less than 35%. Low marsh grass (Spartina alterniflora) increased from less than 10% coverage to 12% in 2015. Additionally, there was an increase in sea blite (Suaeda linearis), from less than 4% in 2002 to over 10% in 2015.

Across the northeast, climate-accelerated sea-level rise is reducing habitat niches in high marsh, as more frequent inundation stresses high marsh species and transforms into low marsh, and low marsh erodes into mudflats. These changes in marsh species composition affect saltmarsh hay (Spartina patens), and will also lead to secondary extinctions.

Species that are habitat specialists in low marsh areas, including coffee-bean snail (Melampus bidentatus) will be more susceptible to climate change impacts during their juvenile life stage.²⁶ The Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) is a high marsh habitat specialist. It is the only bird in North America that nests and forages exclusively in saltmarsh hay . The loss of high marsh to sea level rise, overwash, and tidal restrictions like culverts and ditches threatens the Saltmarsh Sparrow, which will likely be extinct by 2100 (For additional information about Marsh Ditch challenges, see Marsh Case Study Analysis. Saltmarsh Sparrows have been observed in the marsh behind Good Harbor Beach, demonstrating the health of the ecosystem, and highlighting the need to slow the degradation of high marsh areas in the marsh.²⁷

Wetland-dependent birds, neotropical migrants, and generalist avifauna also rely on the marsh for breeding, feeding, and general habitat. Wetland dependent species require healthy aquatic habitat, and therefore can be considered a register of ecosystem health. Wetland dependent species observed at Good Harbor in 2005 included the Black-bellied Plover, Common Yellowthroat, Double-breasted Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Greater Yellowlegs, Herring Gull, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Mallard, Red-winged Blackbird, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Semipalmated Plover, and Yellow Warbler.²⁸

In 2012, wetland dependent species included American Black Duck, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Herring Gull, Mallard, Snowy Egret, Black-bellied Plover, Cliff Swallow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Yellow Warblers.²⁹ Neotropical migrants include the Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Least Sandpiper, Yellow Warbler, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Great Egret. These neotropical migrant birds are habitat specialists and are sensitive to water quality and the presence of these birds reflects saltmarsh quality.³⁰ European Starlings, Barn Swallows, and Rock Doves were also observed in 2005. These birds are generalists that are tolerant of degraded habitat quality, and will increase as habitat is degraded. In 2012, European Starlings were the most commonly sighted bird. A Red-tailed Hawk, Pine Siskins, Bobolinks, and Carolina Wrens were also spotted in 2012.

Marsh Species

In addition to bird species, the marsh is critical habitat for various fish species. Smelt eggs have been found intermittently in Good Harbor Creek behind Good Harbor Marsh.³¹ In 2005, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), striped killifish (Fundulus majalis), ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus), cunner (Tautogolabrus adsperus), and European green crab (Carcinus maenas) were observed in the marsh at Good Harbor.³¹ Mummichog (Fundulus sp.) were also found in 2012, along with ninespine stickleback *(Pungitius pungitius), fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus), and threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) and striped bass (Moronee saxatilis) were also observed in 2012.³² Community iNaturalist observers have found sand shrimp (Crangon vulgaris) and Jonah crabs (Cancer borealis) at the beach from 2016 to the present.³³³⁴

In addition to fish species, the Good Harbor ecosystem is habitat for surf clams (Spisula solidissima) and Atlantic jackknife clams (Ensis leei) off the coast of the beach and in the tombolo leading to Salt Island. Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) inhabit the intertidal flats of the Good Harbor Creek. These clams tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities. The clams spawn during the summer and drift with plankton for several weeks. The clams that survive settle into nearby substrate. The larval mortality of clams is high. Juvenile clams are highly susceptible to predation from crabs and changes in the abiotic environment including low dissolved oxygen and temperature fluctuations.

Invasive Eastern green crabs (Carcinus maenus) first appeared in local estuaries in 1938, including Good Harbor Creek, where they feed on shellfish and destroy smooth cordgrass habitat. They also feed on striped bass, which can disrupt marine fisheries, and are eaten by gulls.³⁵ Invasive Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) have also been found in the Good Harbor Marsh. In addition to soft-shell clams, surf clams, and eastern green crabs, iNaturalist users active from 2016 to the present have found common Atlantic slipper (Crepidula fornicata), common sand dollars (Echinarachnius parma), common periwinkles (Littorina littorea), blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), long-clawed hermit crab (Pagurus longicarpus), northern acorn barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides), and rough periwinkles (Littorina saxatilis) at Good Harbor Beach.³⁶

All of these flora and fauna are impacted by ecosystem degradation. The marsh degraded in the invertebrate category during the five years of WHAT monitoring study from not impaired in 2002 to somewhat impaired in 2003 to moderately impaired in 2004. Good Harbor had good tidal flushing and a well-established bank edge to
provide habitat and edge for macroinvertebrates. However, water quality issues were reported in 2005, which also have an effect on macroinvertebrates.³⁷ By 2012, the invertebrate totals had decreased by almost 50% at upstream and downstream sampling locations.³⁸ This degradation may be due to changes in water quality, including salinity content.

Limited Hydrology

The salinity in saltmarshes is generally higher in the late summer and early fall, and lower in late spring and early summer, however, these trends were not consistent in 2012 in the Good Harbor Marsh. Due to development, salinity levels were low near Hartz Street and the Bridge at Thatcher Road. This suggests that the saltmarshes in this area have become brackish marsh systems. This is a significant degradation to a previously healthy, functioning ecosystem. These salinity changes also affect the fish that rely on saltmarsh habitat for spawning and nursery habitat. Anthropogenic modification of marshes, especially road and railroad construction, reduce the extent of tidal inundation by seawater, and can increase the abundance of phragmites. Restoring water flow can increase the species of fish (nekton) in marshlands, and reduce phragmites occurrence over time.³⁹

Contaminated Water Threat

Water quality is also impacted by activity adjacent to the ecosystem. Inland activity around Good Harbor has a direct impact on the watershed. Discharge pollutants from automobiles, nutrients and pesticides from neighborhood lawns, and contaminants directly affect watershed processes that affect the saltmarsh and run into the ocean. Altering wetlands can reduce or lose juvenile or prey species, expose fish to pollutants, and also expose fish to mammalian or avian predators. Good Harbor Beach is affected by inorganic contaminants, including nutrients and heavy metals, organic contaminants including petroleum compounds from road and pavement surface water runoff, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, as well as biological wastes from sewage and sewage treatment wastewater.⁴⁰

The 2005 Good Harbor Watershed Study identified hazardous waste releases in the Good Harbor Drainage Area and properties with sewer overflow incidents.⁴¹ The study details development within the watershed, and the pollution prevention measures that have been taken. Development has created many impervious surfaces and removed vegetation while increasing pollution associated with parking areas, lawn chemicals, vehicular fluids, sand and salt for roadways, and pet waste.

The study identified a positive relationship between bacteria levels in Good Harbor Creek and rainfall events. Bacteria is transported to Good Harbor Creek and flows through the Creek to the Beach in stormwater runoff. This study does not locate these upstream non-point pollution sources. Areas that were formerly on failing septic systems were upgraded and connected to the municipal sewer system in the 1990s.⁴²

The study found that water had a pH value between 8-8.4 in dry conditions, and lower acidic pH values during wet weather. The study found total suspended solids (TSS), nitrates, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on wet and dry days. The TSS concentrations are likely due to siltation from road runoff. Nitrate pollution near Hartz Street may be caused by sewer issues. The team further found raccoon droppings, geese, ducks, and seagulls across Good Harbor Beach, and heavy wrack and debris along the Beach.⁴³

These water quality issues have not been resolved. Creek closures due to bacteria are ongoing. In 2022, the City of Gloucester Health Department contracted with Woodard and Currant. to understand the source of Enterococcus bacteria along Good Harbor Creek. The Health Department will continue weekly beach testing in May 2023. Bacteria are common during short-duration, high-intensity precipitation events. These events cause creek closures during the summer season. This type of event will become more frequent due to climate change.

The study did not find any bacteria sources in the drainage infrastructure discharging into the creek but did find locations in the Neptune Place cross-country sewer main and Hartz Street sewer main where sewage may be leaking out of pipes when flows reach an elevated or surcharged capacity. Surface water samples had bacteria above water quality standards in some places during dry weather, but had bacteria concentrations above standards in all eastern and western Creek areas during wet areas. The report concluded that there is likely an additional source of human derived bacteria from the Thatcher Road sewer main that crosses the creek, and that birds are contributing bacteria to the creek. The study recommended further analysis to determine if birds are impacting bacteria levels, and to conduct an avian population assessment to determine which birds are contributing and implement mitigation measures for non-native species to decrease bacteria in the Good Harbor watershed.⁴⁵

Existing Studies

In addition to documentation of species, observed changes, and climate impacts, several reports have identified specific restoration projects and recommendations. These recommendations are briefly listed below, and links to the full reports are provided.

In 2003, Mass Audubon completed an analysis of the waterways in Gloucester to identify priority restoration projects.. Some of these projects are suggested as standalone projects, while others are comprehensive watershed restoration initiatives.

Two sites at Good Harbor Beach were identified as potential projects. The first site behind the parking lot is a two-hundred yard long, six foot high berm behind the parking lot with sand and wrack debris piled from parking lot expansion. The berm encroaches on the high marsh, and is a major management issue. The second restoration project identified is an old stone pier that extends into the Good Harbor Creek channel and restricts tidal flow. A secondary pier is parallel to the stream and extends fifty feet from the shore. Eliminating the pier may increase salinity upstream, and the study recommended additional hydrologic assessment to understand the indirect impacts of removing the piers. The project was ranked as a secondary priority.

A third project in the Good Harbor Marsh was identified near Nugent Farm, where phragmites has grown along the perimeter of the marsh. There was a historical connection to the marsh behind Long Beach in Rockport across Witham Street that has been filled and cut off with a berm. Water passes under Witham Street through a culvert. The study suggested this site may be a candidate for open marsh water management and restoration to reduce phragmites in the context of the entire Good Harbor Marsh system. The project has potential to restore alewife habitat, an adronomous species of herring that forms the base of the marine food web.

The study further identified projects at six sites in the marshes of the Good Harbor Creek watershed behind Good Harbor Beach. The first site is a salt panne surrounded by phragmites was identified adjacent to the mall access road off Thatcher Road. The project is a major priority, as the saltmarsh is blocked from regular tidal flow by a poorly functioning culvert. High marsh vegetation is found in the impacted area, and may transition to low marsh in the future. Four low-lying homes are constructed three-hundred feet from the road. A second project in the Good Harbor Creek is an old stone based pier constructed adjacent to the saltmarsh near Rio Drive. The project was ranked a minor priority that could be addressed in the context of a broader Good Harbor Creek watershed project. A third project behind the Stop and Shop in the parking lot area was identified as a minor priority. Depressions in the parking lot are forming salt pannes, and marsh species have grown through fences at the
back of the site.

The study suggests that the parking lot area could be reduced and saltmarsh created, which may have an additional benefit in creating public access points for small watercraft. Nearby, a fourth site with a brackish pond currently functions as a stormwater detention area that is currently surrounded by phragmites. The pond has minimal hydrological connection with the abutting saltmarsh due to a berm that reduces tidal flow. The area is used as habitat for shorebirds, and could be enhanced by providing better tidal flow through a feeder ditch. A
fifth site east of Hartz Street has been overgrown by phragmites. Existing ditches were suggested to be reconfigured to assist in tidal flow in the context of a broader watershed restoration project. The area was also identified as a potential or actual area for smelt spawning, especially to the west of Hartz Street. Finally, a sixth site in Good Harbor Creek was identified between the Route 128 Extension and Hartz Street. This area is the historic connection from Good Harbor Creek to the Inner Harbor, and is now impacted by restricted tidal flow
and many invasive species. The culvert under the Route 128 expansion is in poor condition, and a berm cuts across freshwater marsh. The study recommended further analysis to determine the hydrologic conditions
across the marsh.⁴⁶

In 2005, the Office of Coastal Zone Management created a list of fourteen recommendations, including local landscapes create brochures and handouts to distribute regarding organic landscaping, and the health risks of pesticides and other residential lawn care. The team further recommended using vegetated buffers and non-invasive planting to maintain landscapes. Additionally, the study recommended that the City of Gloucester remedy their bacteria testing to take samples during low tide, when salinity is lower, update existing city wetland maps to track the gain and loss of marshland, and create a local ordinance on infiltration and runoff from new impervious surfaces.⁴⁷

In 2018, the City of Gloucester’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness planning workshop identified conducting an overall climate adaptation study for Good Harbor Beach as one of the top environmental priorities for the city.⁴⁸ This study is critical to fully understand the ecosystem, create a baseline evaluation of the health of the system, and evaluate plausible impacts due to climate change.

Conclusion

The Good Harbor ecosystem is a dynamic interface between saltwater, freshwater, marshland, and developed areas. Human influence and climate change have altered the relationship between these habitats, limiting their resilience. Good Harbor will continue to change and evolve. Innovative actions and novel techniques that anticipate the way the beach is already changing can help ensure that Good Harbor continues to provide habitat and enjoyment for humans, birds, and shellfish alike into the future.

See potential initiatives organized into scenario plans in the next section, Beach Scenario Plans.