Salem Sound is the body of water, fed by numerous rivers and streams, extending north from the lighthouse on Marblehead Neck to Gales Point in Manchester-by-the Sea, including also the harbors of Marblehead, Salem and Beverly. Salem Sound Coastwatch is a growing and vital watershed association, founded in 1990 as a coalition of North Shore governments, businesses, educational institutions, charities and citizens, to protect and enhance the environmental quality of Salem Sound and its watershed. It recognizes the connection between landside activities and water quality, and that environmental impacts cross municipal boundaries.

Concrete accomplishments? In 1997-98: 40 volunteer divers completed a year-long underwater survey of the Sound; three "Adopt-a-Stream" programs trained volunteers as stream stewards; water monitoring identified "hot spots" of bacterial pollution entering the Sound, yielding a remedial strategy; and a pollution prevention project promoted cost-effective practices among marinas and boaters.

Already biodiversity is increasing, stripers are returning and the water is clearer. But there is a great deal of work still to be done, to achieve the return of good fishing, harvestable shellfish, swimmable waters and healthy urban waterfronts and natural habitats for all.