Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay are bordered by 50 communities, home to 1.7 million people, all of whom impact our local bays in one way or another. **The MassBays National Estuary Program**, one of 28 _NEP_s established under the [Clean Water Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Act "About the Clean Water Act"), is charged with assessing that impact, and reporting on trends over time. They address questions like, “Is water quality in the bays improving?” and “Are herring coming back to our rivers?” and even, “Can our salt marshes survive sea level rise?”. Join MassBays Director **Pam DiBona** for a report on the State of the bays based on a recent scientific symposium, and **Samantha Woods**, Director of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, who brings hundreds of volunteers to the task of finding answers to these questions.