What's New

CZM's Wetlands Restoration Program has selected nine proposals to receive awards totaling $200,000 under its FY 2008 Wetland Restoration Grants for Priority Projects RFR . Grant funds will be used by recipients to support construction-related activities and monitoring at designated Priority Project restoration sites . The awardees for construction-related grants are:

The awardees for monitoring grants are:

For more information, including summary descriptions of each grant award, see the EEA press release.

In an active construction season for CZM's Wetlands Restoration Program, two more Cape Cod salt marsh restoration projects totaling 50 acres are now under construction. The first is South Cape Beach, a project on land owned by both DCR (Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) and the town of Mashpee. The project involves two road crossings at state and town beaches, both with under-sized culverts in poor condition. The first culvert is being replaced by a 28-foot span footbridge above an open channel, while the second crossing is being replaced by a 10-foot open bottom culvert. The project will improve degraded conditions within 15-acres of salt marsh and restore a natural channel bottom throughout the system. Project partners include CZM-WRP, DCR, the town of Mashpee, NOAA, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service / National Fish and Wildlife Foundation partnership. Construction is expected to be completed in early May.

The second project is Bass Creek on the Cape Cod Bay side of Yarmouth, where a 4-foot corrugated metal culvert beneath an old earthen dike will be replaced with a 35-foot long walking bridge over an open channel. The project, located in Yarmouth's Callery -Darling Conservation Area, will dramatically improve tidal exchange to a degraded 35-acre marsh upstream of the earthen dike. Project partners include the town of Yarmouth, CZM-WRP, the Gulf of Maine NOAA partnership, FishAmerica Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Service/Coastal America Foundation Partnership, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. Construction is expected to be completed in mid-April.

Construction is underway for the Sesuit Creek Restoration Project. The project will restore 65 acres of degraded salt marsh by replacing an under-sized culvert beneath Bridge Street, a town-owned road. See the February 2008 Update for more information.

WRP has issued an RFR seeking proposals for wetland restoration grants for designated Priority Projects. The RFR solicitation closes February 8, 2008. Activities that are eligible to receive grants include actual construction and related activities, and pre- and post-construction monitoring. Approximately $200,000 in funding is anticipated to be available for the FY 2008 grant round. The RFR number is "ENV 08 CZM 06" and the title is "Wetland Restoration Grants for Priority Projects". To view the RFR, visit the Comm-PASS web site at http://www.comm-pass.com/ and search for solicitations using the RFR number.

WRP and the Town of Plymouth have received a $1 million Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant to help the town of Plymouth repair degraded aquatic habitats within the town-owned Eel River Headwaters conservation area. Combined with other partner funding, this US Fish and Wildlife Service grant will restore approximately one mile of the Eel River Headwaters and nearly 40 acres of adjacent wetlands damaged by previous agricultural operations. For more information, please view the EEA press release.

The FishAmerica Foundation recently awarded the Town of Yarmouth a $30,000 Community-Based Habitat Restoration Project Grant for wetlands and fish passage restoration at Bass Creek. The grant will fund construction involving the removal of a perched, undersized culvert to be replaced with an open channel and wooden walking bridge across the channel. WRP has partnered with the Town, federal restoration agencies, and the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership on this project that will restore 35 acres of degraded coastal wetlands. This grant award completes the fundraising needed to construct the project in the spring of 2008.

9//2007 – Eelgrass Transplanted in Annisquam River

CZM, in partnership with the City of Gloucester, the U.S. EPA and DM, continued to examine the potential for eelgrass habitat restoration in the Annisquam River. Eelgrass planted in 5 test plots (Lobster Cove, Goose Cove, outside of Goose Cove, Mill River, and the mouth of the Little River) will be periodically monitored to determine the success of these test plots and subsequently guide restoration planning. For details, contact Tony Wilbur at tony.wilbur@state.ma.us.

In July, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Town of Dennis was awarded a $200,000 Open Rivers Initiative Grant for the Sesuit Creek coastal wetland restoration project. WRP is working with the Town of Dennis and many other partners to advance this restoration project, which will restore more than 60 acres of degraded coastal wetlands, as well as a fish run that is important for several diadromous fish species. With this grant award, funding is complete for construction. The Town of Dennis put the project to bid on August 1, and hopes to have construction complete by February 2008.

The Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration Program (WRP) is seeking responses from vendors who wish to be pre-qualified under master agreements to provide wetland restoration technical services for fiscal years 2008-2010. WRP intends to pre-qualify up to 7 broad program area vendors (who can provide most or all of the 26 services requested) and up to 6 specialized program area vendors (who can provide the specific services of Restoration Project Monitoring, or Coastal Resource Modeling, Engineering, and Design). This solicitation is open to all public and private entities including but not limited to: private consulting firms, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, regional planning agencies, and other regional or local planning organizations.

To view the Request for Qualifications/Responses, see the Comm-PASS website at http://www.comm-pass.com/ and search for document number "ENV 08 CZM 01." Responses are due by August 31.

WRP and numerous partners teamed with Thompson Island Outward Bound to restore tidal flushing to 6 acres of degraded inter-tidal wetlands . This week, debris and rubble that obstructed the tidal channel to Boston Harbor were removed and the channel was dredged to the natural bottom elevation. The restoration will improve marsh drainage and allow seawater to flood the the system during most high tides. The degraded conditions caused by the channel obstruction included an expanding common reed (Phrgamites australis) infestation, poor water quality, and seasonal algal blooms. The restored hydrologic connection to Boston Harbor will facilitate increased growth of native salt marsh vegetation, enhance fish passage into the marsh and its important nursery and feeding habitat, reduce the coverage of common reed, and improve water quality. A dedication event will take place on August 2nd . See the project website for more information and the event invitation.

Additional information has been posted on the Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project website that indicates how volunteer observers can submit information documenting observations of biocontrol beetles and their effects on purple loosestrife.

At the May 30 th Wetland Restoration Event (see below), Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Ian Bowles, announced the formation of an Aquatic Habitat Restoration Task Force. Massachusetts has been actively involved in aquatic habitat restoration for over a decade, and it's an appropriate time to examine progress to date and to chart a course for the next 10 years to continue Massachusetts ' leadership in this area. The Task Force will convene a group of key state and non-state individuals with broad interests and representation to assess the state of aquatic habitat restoration in the Commonwealth in order to identify the barriers and opportunities for moving aquatic habitat restoration efforts forward. More information will be provided as the Task Force is convened.

5/2007- Celebrating Aquatic Habitat Restoration in Massachusetts - Highlighting Progress in the Great Marsh Region

On May 30 th , over 100 federal, state, and local partners gathered to celebrate aquatic habitat restoration efforts in the North Shore Great Marsh region and across the Commonwealth. The Wetlands Month Event was held at The Trustees of Reservations Crane Estate in Ipswich in the middle of the beautiful Great Marsh. Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Ian Bowles, as well as representatives from EPA, NOAA, WRP , The Trustees of Reservations, and the City of Gloucester spoke to the many restoration successes achieved in recent years and highlighted future needs and opportunities for aquatic habitat restoration throughout Massachusetts . Restoration accomplishments and opportunities within the 25,000-acre Great Marsh region were highlighted. EPA New England, WRP , and the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership sponsored the event. See the EPA Press Release for more information.

4/2007- Informational Meetings Announced for the Draft Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan

Two informational meetings will be held in the Great Marsh region during the public comment period for the Draft Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan. The meeting dates and times are:

Ipswich Town Hall, Room B

To submit a comment, please visit the Draft Plan website. Comments received via the website before April 30, 2007 will be addressed as the Final Plan is prepared. After incorporating input from the public, the final restoration plan will be completed and posted on the website. WRP will work with the Great Marsh communities and restoration partners to advance promising sites toward restoration.

WRP is pleased to announce the publication of the Draft Great Marsh Coastal Wetlands Restoration Plan. The Draft Plan is an online web site intended to help communities in the Great Marsh region identify and restore degraded and former coastal wetland habitats. The web site presents maps, photos, and descriptions of 121 potential and completed salt marsh restoration sites. WRP is now seeking public input on the Plan. Comments received before April 28, 2007 will be addressed as the Final Plan is prepared. WRP will hold several informational meetings on the Draft Plan throughout the Great Marsh region during the comment period, and the Final Plan is expected to be completed early this summer. See the associated EOEA press release.