Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Over $1 Million to Help Communities Restore Rivers, Wetlands, and Reduce Flooding

BOSTON — The Healey‑Driscoll Administration today announced over $1 million in grants to six regional restoration partnerships that help communities restore rivers and wetlands, reduce flooding, improve water-quality, and strengthen climate resilience across Massachusetts. Through the Department of Fish & Game’s (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) Partnerships Program, the funding will support three existing and three new partnerships that work directly with cities, towns, and local organizations to develop and advance locally led projects. 

"Communities across Massachusetts are leading important restoration projects, and we're proud to give them the tools and support they need to succeed," said Governor Maura Healey. "These partnerships will help protect neighborhoods from flooding, restore wildlife habitat and create healthier rivers and wetlands across our state." 

"Healthy rivers and wetlands protect our communities from flooding, improve water quality and make Massachusetts more resilient to climate change," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. "These investments will help local partners restore critical natural resources while making communities safer and stronger for years to come." 

“Healthy rivers and wetlands are among our best defenses against climate change,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “These partnerships give communities the tools and expertise they need to restore these natural resources that protect people, infrastructure, and ecosystems across Massachusetts.”  

DER’s Regional Restoration Partnerships Program expands regional capacity by providing support, technical expertise, and project development assistance to nonprofit organizations and Regional Planning Agencies across the state. These regional partners help municipalities identify high‑priority restoration projects, secure funding, navigate permitting, and restore rivers, wetlands, and floodplains in ways that improve habitat for wildlife, protect clean water, and reduce flood risks.  

“Achieving the Commonwealth’s biodiversity goals requires restoring healthy, connected fish and wildlife habitat at a large scale,” said DFG Commissioner Tom O’Shea. “These partnerships accelerate that work by helping communities remove barriers, boost climate resilience, and protect the cold, clean water that fish and wildlife depend on.” 

"The Regional Restoration Partnerships Program is designed to build a durable, statewide network of regional partners with the staff, skills, and resources to lead restoration work locally,” said DER Director Beth Lambert. “The partnerships model helps community‑based organizations identify priorities, advance high‑quality designs, and deliver restoration at a pace and scale equal to today’s climate and biodiversity challenges.”  

By investing in regional capacity, the program helps communities complete restoration projects, build long-term local capacity, and ensures every region of Massachusetts has the support needed to protect and restore its rivers, wetlands, and coastal systems. 

FY27 Partnership Program Grant Awards: 

Existing Partnerships

Berkshire Clean, Cold, Connected Partnership: $225,784 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Housatonic Valley Association 
• The Berkshire Clean, Cold, Connected Partnership unites organizations, agencies, and communities to strengthen aquatic health and climate resilience in the Hoosic, Housatonic, and Farmington River watersheds encompassing 32 municipalities in Western Massachusetts. This award will expand regional capacity to deliver nature-based climate solutions, accelerate the removal of aquatic barriers, and restore connected cold-water habitat for native fish.   

Buzzards Bay Watershed Restoration Partnership: $225,373 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Buzzards Bay Coalition 
• The Buzzards Bay Watershed Restoration Partnership brings together towns, land trusts, and private landowners to advance strategic ecological restoration, land conservation, and climate resilience across 14 municipalities within the 432 square mile Buzzards Bay watershed in southeastern Massachusetts.  This award will strengthen local and regional capacity to implement priority restoration projects such as river and stream connectivity through dam removal and culvert replacements, salt marsh restoration and migration, and the restoration of retired cranberry bogs. 

Merrimack Restoration Partnership: $225,000 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Merrimack River Watershed Association 
• The Merrimack Restoration Partnership brings together regional partners to advance watershed-scale restoration and climate resilience across the 1,202 square miles of the Nashua, Lower Merrimack, Sudbury-Assabet-Concord, Spicket, Shawsheen, and Beaver Brook watersheds, encompassing 76 municipalities in northeastern and north-central Massachusetts. This award will strengthen regional capacity to implement high-priority ecological restoration projects, including dam removals and culvert assessments and replacements, while advancing urban stream revitalization in Lowell and Lawrence to improve water quality, restore floodplains, engage communities, and expand public access to local rivers and streams. 

New Partnerships 

Metro Boston Partnership: $101,305 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Charles River Watershed Association   
• The Metro Boston Restoration Partnership brings together municipalities, nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and other regional partners to advance watershed-scale ecological restoration and climate resilience across the 428-square-mile Charles and Neponset River watersheds, encompassing 42 municipalities and an estimated population of 2 million people. This award will strengthen regional capacity to identify, prioritize, and advance high-value restoration projects by supporting strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and regional coordination, while building a robust pipeline of restoration projects and accelerating implementation through shared expertise, collaboration, and long-term restoration capacity. 

Parker-Ipswich-Essex (PIE) Rivers Partnership: $150,000 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Ipswich River Watershed Association 
• The PIE Rivers Partnership brings together municipalities, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, state and federal agencies, and community leaders to advance watershed-scale restoration, ecological health, and climate resilience across the 258-square-mile Parker, Ipswich, and Essex River watersheds and the Great Marsh ecosystem, encompassing 28 municipalities that drain to Plum Island Sound and Essex Bay. This award will strengthen regional capacity to advance watershed planning, dam removal, and floodplain restoration projects while expanding stakeholder engagement, fostering collaboration across watershed boundaries, and building a robust pipeline of priority restoration projects that deliver lasting ecological and community benefits. 

Blackstone Watershed Collaborative: $122,538 

• Lead Organization/Awardee: Blackstone Watershed Collaborative  
• The Blackstone Watershed Collaborative brings together municipalities, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, businesses, Tribal partners, and community organizations to advance watershed-scale ecological restoration and climate resilience across the 343-square-mile Massachusetts portion of the Blackstone River watershed, which encompasses 29 municipalities. This award will strengthen regional capacity to advance strategic watershed planning, aquatic connectivity and hydrology improvement projects, aging culvert replacements, and public engagement initiatives, while building a robust pipeline of priority restoration projects and fostering the collaboration needed to move projects efficiently from planning to implementation. 

Project Examples Supported by FY27 Funding: 

• The Puritan Bog Restoration Project led by the Buzzards Bay Watershed Restoration Partnership will continue advancing preliminary design and permitting to support the site’s transition from a retired cranberry bog to a climate‑resilient salt marsh. The project focuses on removing berms, filling agricultural ditches, and regrading low‑lying areas to enable future marsh migration as sea levels rise. 
• Within the Merrimack Restoration Partnership, FY27 funding will help advance feasibility and site assessments for a bundled effort to remove three town‑owned dams on Johnson Creek in Groveland. The project aims to reopen habitat for migratory fish, improve stream connectivity, and enhance conditions in a watershed that supports both diadromous species and resident brook trout. 
• In the Berkshires, the Konkapot River Restoration Project led by the Berkshire Clean, Cold and Connected Partnership and Trout Unlimited will continue work to reconnect the river to its floodplain and improve cold‑water habitat. Planned actions include installing large wood structures and regrading select floodplain areas to reduce flood risks, restore natural river processes, and enhance habitat quality in this high‑priority cold‑water system. 

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