R.I. CRMC awards $225K for habitat restoration projects

A VIEW OF THE SPILLWAY at the Shady Lea dam in North Kingstown. Save The Bay will receive $100,000 through the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council toward removal of the dam on the Mattatuxet River. / COURTESY R.I. COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
A VIEW OF THE SPILLWAY at the Shady Lea dam in North Kingstown. Save The Bay will receive $100,000 through the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council toward removal of the dam on the Mattatuxet River. / COURTESY R.I. COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council has awarded $225,000 in funding for habitat restoration projects throughout the state through its R.I. Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund.
Projects approved for funding include two anadromous fish passage restoration projects, a salt marsh restoration project, a barrier beach restoration project, two coastal upland restoration projects and one equipment request for the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
In its request for proposals, the CRMC put special emphasis this year on projects that would enhance the resiliency of Rhode Island’s coastal habitats to climate change and sea level rise. According to a release from the agency, the Seapowet Point Restoration and Coastal Resilience Project, exemplifies these goals. The amount for that project was $30,759.
More details about some of the projects are as follows:

  • The state Division of Fish and Wildlife will receive $30,759 to reconfigure public access, change land management practices and enhance vegetation at a state-owned shoreline property in Tiverton. The changes will allow for the migration and future development of coastal wetlands as sea levels rise, and enhance existing shoreline habitat while still allowing for safe public access and recreation.
  • Save The Bay will receive $5,000 to improve anadromous fish passage to 86 acres of spawning area by removing obstructions from Mussachuck Creek in Barrington. The project will be carried out in partnership with the Rhode Island Country Club and the R.I. DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.
  • The Nature Conservancy will receive $9,300 to continue its work restoring native plant communities within the salt marsh complex at Goosewing Beach in Little Compton. This is an ongoing project funded previously by the CEHRTF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and earlier phases have been successful at managing the invasive plant species Phragmites australis at the project site while allowing native plants to establish and thrive.
  • The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation will receive $16,000 to fund initial phases of a wading bird restoration project on Rose Island in Newport. The goal is to restore nesting populations of wading birds recently extirpated from the island. The early phases of the project will include planting of native tree species to serve as a screen between nesting habitat areas and areas of heavier human activity as well as the deployment and monitoring of bird decoys.
  • The Watch Hill Conservancy will receive $20,433 for restoration of barrier beach plant communities on Napatree Point in Westerly. The funded project will expand upon restoration efforts previously funded by the CRMC and the URI Coastal Institute to control invasive plant species and plant native barrier beach species that will help to improve habitat value and decrease the area of walking trails that allow for human disturbance of the dune system.
  • The Blackstone Parks Conservancy will receive $30,000 for the second phase of a restoration project previously funded through the CEHRTF. The project will address severe erosion problems in a forested coastal upland in Blackstone Park in Providence through an extensive planting effort and trail maintenance measures.
  • Save The Bay will receive $100,000 toward removal of the Shady Lea dam on the Mattatuxet River in North Kingstown. This project received funding previously through the CEHRTF for design and a portion of the construction costs. Additional funding has been provided through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the dam owner.

Habitat restoration projects are funded through the R.I. Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund and are selected from recommendations by the fund’s Technical Advisory Committee. Program funds come from the state’s Oil Spill Prevention Administration and Response Act.
“The CRMC is pleased to support this year’s diverse suite of habitat restoration projects, and recognizes the important role that habitat restoration and enhancement can play in improving the resilience of our coastal areas to climate change and sea level rise,” CRMC Executive Director Grover Fugate said in a statement.

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