Current Update

We are thrilled to announce the completion of the Namskaket Creek restoration in Brewster as the 50th project where WRP has helped our partners restore degraded wetlands. These 50 projects represent a total of 588 acres of wetlands under restoration. More importantly, they demonstrate the tremendous effectiveness of partnerships in Massachusetts that support aquatic habitat restoration and are a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all the people and organizations who have helped achieve this impressive milestone. We would like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you who has played a role in supporting restoration projects across the Commonwealth. Your efforts have made a real and lasting difference by improving the health of our communities and our environment. Thank you!

Hunt Durey, WRP Manager

Funding Awarded to Collaborative Restoration Projects

Sesuit Creek Marsh Restoration Project Receives Grant and Budget Appropriation

On January 19, 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that WRP was awarded a $350,000 National Coastal Wetlands Grant for the Sesuit Creek coastal wetland restoration project. WRP is working with the Town of Dennis and many other partners to advance this project. Tidal flow to the Sesuit Creek salt marsh is currently severely restricted by a 24-inch culvert that allows only minimal tidal exchange to over 60 acres of coastal wetlands. The current culvert will be replaced by two 12-foot wide culverts to restore tidal flow and improve fish passage to upstream Scargo Lake, which provides spawning habitat for a substantial herring population. A portion of the grant will also help fund the acquisition of a six-acre conservation property within the Sesuit Creek watershed. View the USFWS news release.

Additionally, the Town of Dennis will receive $150,000 as a targeted Commonwealth budget appropriation for the restoration of the Sesuit Creek salt marsh. WRP will administer the funding, which was sponsored by Representative Cleon Turner and Senator Robert O'Leary, and was approved in the Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2007 budget. Sesuit Creek is a designated WRP Priority Project which is expected to be constructed in late 2007 or early 2008.

In October 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that four tidal wetland restoration projects in the Buzzards Bay region were selected for funding under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant program. The projects are: Sippewisset Marsh, Falmouth; Back River Marsh, Bourne; Eel Pond, Mattapoisett; and Crooked River Marsh, Wareham. These projects are components of a larger NAWCA award that includes several land acquisitions. A coalition of local, regional, and state partners proposed the projects for funding, and WRP is supporting project development efforts. Funds will be administered by the Coalition for Buzzards Bay. For more information see the following websites: NAWCF Awards and USFWS Role in Utilizing Oil Spill Fines.

Town of Bourne Receives $17,000 Grant from the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Project
On January 18, 2007, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Project (BBP) awarded the Town of Bourne a $17,000 grant to assess the feasibility of installing a larger culvert under Circuit Avenue to improve tidal flushing and coastal wetlands habitat at Conservation Pond. Restricted tidal flow currently facilitates the buildup of bacteria in the pond that contributes to the closure of approximately 17 acres of shellfish beds downstream in Hen Cove. This area has recently been the subject of a stormwater remediation project funded by CZM's Coastal Pollution Remediation Program and this grant award is an extension of that project. WRP will consult with the town and BBP on the feasibility study and will help assess the study results for potential restoration options.

In January, the Department of Environmental Protection reached a settlement for a wetlands violation in Weymouth that resulted in a funding allocation of $180,000 to restore degraded aquatic habitats in the headwaters of the Eel River in Plymouth. The site is a Priority Project for both WRP and the Riverways Program, and was identified as an opportunity to receive the settlement funds after it was determined that restoration of wetlands at or near the Weymouth site was not possible. See the Boston Globe article for more information.

The Eel River Headwaters restoration project is currently in the design phase and will restore over 40 acres of degraded freshwater wetlands and river channel that were altered many years ago for cranberry cultivation. A major goal of the restoration will be to restore conditions suitable for development of an Atlantic white cedar swamp, a rare wetland type in Massachusetts. Design of portions of the project will be completed by the end of June 2007 with the support of a $20,000 grant from WRP. The Town of Plymouth and many project partners will begin major fundraising for construction in summer 2007, and expect to complete the project in late 2008.

The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment/NOAA Habitat Restoration Partnership recently issued their 2007 grant awards for habitat restoration projects.

The funding supports community-based efforts to restore coastal and estuarine habitats, including salt marshes, rivers and streams, native diadromous fish runs, and subtidal eelgrass and shellfish beds within the Gulf of Maine. Three coastal wetland restoration projects were funded in Massachusetts for this award cycle and are briefly described below.

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod will receive $23,000 to support their salt marsh monitoring efforts at a number of restoration sites on the Cape. The Town of Wellfleet will receive $53,000 for the Herring River Project to develop a hydrodynamic model to aid in restoration design. The Town of Brewster will receive $48,600 for feasibility studies for restoration at the Stony Brook marsh. WRP is a primary partner in all of the projects supported by these awards.

WRP is pleased to announce that construction of the Namskaket Creek Salt Marsh Restoration Project was completed in December 2006. This project restored tidal flow to a degraded 10-acre marsh upstream of the scenic Cape Cod Rail Trail on the Brewster and Orleans town line. The original 2-foot diameter culvert beneath the rail trail severely restricted tidal flow to the marsh, causing significant degradation of upstream marsh habitats. The project removed the old culvert and replaced it with twin 5-foot diameter culverts to greatly increase tidal exchange. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) sponsored and constructed the project with additional funding and support provided by WRP, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership. Changes in marsh vegetation and other indicators of restoration progress are being monitored by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod through a grant from WRP.

A final engineering design is nearing completion for the South Cape Beach restoration project in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR). Two culvert crossings that restrict tidal flow in the 15-acre marsh will be replaced with a larger culvert and a walking bridge. WRP and WBNERR hope to obtain permits and construct the project by fall 2007. Construction is limited to the autumn season, since the site is a popular tourist location in the summer, and also supports nearby nesting piping plover, a federally listed Endangered Species, which nests in spring.

In November 2006, WRP posted a new web page providing comprehensive information about the Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project. WRP initiated the Project in 2000 with the goal of enhancing the health, condition, and diversity of habitats and native species within wetlands that have been degraded by infestations of the invasive, non-native purple loosestrife. As of 2006, 17 sites have been treated under the guidance of the

WRP.

Extensive monitoring of treatment sites has occurred to document the effects of the beetles on purple loosestrife growth and the establishment of beetle populations. Monitoring data from the 2006 field season are being compiled and a report will be prepared. The project expanded greatly in 2006, and in 2007 it will focus on enhancing beetle rearing capacity in the Commonwealth by increasing volunteer participation. In 2006, WRP and Project partners observed beetle damage and activity on numerous purple loosestrife plants away from known beetle releases. Migration of beetles to other purple loosestrife areas is anticipated and ultimately the desired outcome, as a balance is struck between populations of beetles and purple loosestrife at infestation sites. WRP will be informing scientists and educators who work in wetlands of an upcoming effort to monitor for beetle impacts on purple loosestrife infestations away from known release sites. For more information contact Beth Suedmeyer.

WRP will soon publish the Draft Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan. The Draft Plan will be an online document with information, maps, and photos on over 100 potential restoration sites located in the Great Marsh region that extends from Rockport to Salisbury on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Visitors will be able to launch site-specific web pages from both a regional interactive map and a sortable list of potential restoration sites. WRP looks forward to working with the Great Marsh communities and stakeholders to advance promising sites toward restoration.

In January, Beth Suedmeyer, Restoration Planner, presented a preview of the Draft Plan at the Great Marsh Restoration Team Meeting and the Annual Meeting of the Parker River Clean Water Association. WRP will be making a series of presentations of the Draft Plan to stakeholders throughout the Great Marsh Region and will be seeking input for incorporation in the Final Plan. For more information, contact Beth Suedmeyer and look for an announcement of the publication being posted to the web in the near future. Click on the image above to see example imagery for the Wingaersheek Beach site in Gloucester.

Town Creek Potential Restoration Site in Salisbury Identified as a High Priority

The Town Creek salt marsh is located approximately 4 miles upstream from the mouth of the Merrimack River along Route 1 in Salisbury. There are approximately 350 acres of severely degraded tidal wetlands upstream of an abandoned railroad embankment owned by MBTA. These wetlands predominately consist of large monotypic stands of Phragmites and former tidal habitats. This site is identified as a high priority for potential restoration in the Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan.

In November 2006, the Salisbury Board of Selectmen was presented with a petition from business and property owners who have been impacted by flooding on Bridge Road adjacent to Town Creek. Salisbury officials subsequently nominated the Town Creek site as a WRP Priority Project to explore restoration options to improve both ecological and flooding conditions. WRP has accepted the site as a Priority Project and will fund technical services work this spring to develop baseline information that is needed to assess existing conditions and restoration options.

WRP is working with numerous partners on several other restoration projects in the Great Marsh that are in various phases on development. These include: Wingaersheek Beach, Mill River, and Dun Fudgin in Gloucester; and Newman Road in Newbury. Detailed information on these and all other restoration opportunities will be provided in the Great Marsh Plan.

WRP has selected eight proposals to receive awards totaling $200,000 under its FY 2007 Wetland Restoration Grants for Priority Projects. Grant funds will be used by recipients to support construction-related activities and project monitoring. The awardees for construction-related restoration projects are:

The awardees for monitoring grants are:

View the EOEA press release and a summary description of each award, including the activities funded.

On October 3, 2006, WRP issued its annual call for priority wetland restoration project nominations. Sites that are accepted as Priority Projects are eligible to receive technical services funded by WRP, such as wetland delineation, topographic survey, mapping and site planning, hydrologic analyses, impact assessments, title and deed exams, permitting, and monitoring. The Priority Project nomination period will remain open until May 15, 2007. To view the RFR, visit the Comm-PASS website and search for document number "ENV 07 CZM 03". For more information, visit the Priority Projects page.

This is the first year WRP has kept the nomination period open over a cycle of seven months. WRP has received several nominations which have been reviewed by WRP staff. To date, the projects which have been accepted as designated Priority Projects are:

We look forward to collaborating with town officials and restoration partners to pursue restoration opportunities at these sites. In the future, you will see more information on these priority projects in updates and on our website.

Last year, WRP accepted ten project nominations as designated priority projects through the FY 2006 priority project RFR. See the Priority Projects page for more information including aerial images of each site. There are currently 39 active Priority Projects in various stages of development that represent over 3,000 acres of wetlands restoration potential.

A new PDF webpage has been posted on the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) home page that introduces readers to EOEA’s habitat restoration efforts across Massachusetts and to the numerous restoration programs and projects supported by state agencies. Click here to view the page.

On December 9-13, 2006, the coastal habitat restoration community met in New Orleans, Louisiana for the 3rd National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration to share their work in pursuing coastal restoration as a national imperative. WRP staff presented at two conference sessions. WRP presentations were entitled: Massachusetts Coastal Wetlands Restoration Planning and Rapid Site Assessments: Tools and Techniques after Ten Years of Evolution (Hunt Durey, Beth Suedmeyer) and Engaging Citizens in Habitat Restoration - A Regional Network for Monitoring Salt Marsh Restoration in Massachusetts (Tim Smith). For more information see the National Conference Homepage.

Announcing The Great Marsh Symposium, March 10, 2007

The Great Marsh Symposium: Discover a Coastal Treasure in our Backyard will be held on March 10, 2007 and will include an outstanding roster of experts giving short presentations on a variety of Great Marsh topics. Hosted by the Great Marsh Coalition, with support from EBSCO, the Symposium will be held in the new auditorium of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Newburyport from 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Beth Suedmeyer, WRP Restoration Planner, will be demonstrating the new, online Draft Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan at the Symposium. Pre-registration is required as space is limited. See the website for more information and registration instructions. If you have questions contact Kathy Leahy at Mass Audubon: North Shore, 978-927-1122 x2700 or kleahy@massaudubon.org.

Cape Cod Volunteer Training on Monitoring River Herring
On Monday, March 12, from 9:30 am to noon, there will be a training workshop for volunteers and others interested in learning how to count river herring during the spring herring run. The workshop will be held at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster. The goal of this workshop is to train volunteers and interested citizens on how to obtain good counts of river herring. Volunteers working together can get population estimates of migrating river herring for a specific river. This information is useful for determining the health and stability of a local fishery and helps fisheries managers protect and restore herring runs. This workshop is being provided by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) and the Town of Brewster, in partnership with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. See this press release or contact Jo Ann Muramoto for more information.

This conference, titled "The Spirit of Cooperation: Integrating Partnerships between Science and Management for Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration", will be held April 22-27, 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri. The purpose of the conference "is to provide a forum for physical, biological, and social scientists, engineers, resource managers, planners and policy-makers to share their knowledge and research results concerning ecosystem restoration throughout the United States. The public forum will exchange information and "lessons learned" on opportunities for and challenges of achieving ecosystem restoration through partnership. The roles of policy, planning, and science in establishing goals and performance expectations for achieving successful and sustainable ecosystem restoration will be explored. Successful partnerships and means to leverage resources will be an important component of these meetings. To learn more, visit the conference web site.