CRMC announces funding for six habitat restoration projects

January 29, 2008, WAKEFIELD – The RI Coastal Resources Management Council has awarded funding for six habitat restoration projects through its RI Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund.

The Council approved the funding at the January 22 semi-monthly meeting in Providence.  Projects approved for funding include fish passage restoration projects on the Ten Mile, Woonasquatucket, Blackstone and Pawcatuck Rivers, as well as a salt marsh restoration project located at Silver Creek Salt Marsh in Bristol. The remainder of the funding will be used to purchase low ground pressure equipment for the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM), which will be made available for use in habitat restoration projects statewide.

“The CRMC is encouraged by the number and quality of restoration projects it received this year and the now extremely competitive proposal process,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “It is great to see all of the good that has been done with the help of these funds through the years – numerous habitat restoration projects, fish ladder construction projects and continued support of other related work. Rhode Island’s coastal and estuarine habitats will be greatly improved through these efforts and we look forward to seeing the results of this work.”

The DEM was awarded $100,000 toward the construction of Denil fishways and eel passages at Omega Pond Dam, Hunts Mill Dam and Turner Reservoir Dam on the Ten Mile River in East Providence. The new fishways will restore anadromous fish runs for river herring and American shad and the new eel passages will connect the Ten Mile River with Narragansett Bay, restoring prime fish habitat that is currently limited by obstructions. The Ten Mile River project has been identified by DEM as the most important fish passage restoration project in the state.  When completed, it will provide 340 acres of spawning habitat for alewives, and approximately 3 miles of riverine spawning habitat for blueback herring and American shad.

The Council awarded $40,000 to the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council for restoration of fish passage at Paragon Dam on the Woonasquatucket River in Providence.  This project is part of a larger effort to restore fish passage on the lower Woonasquatucket River. The first fish ladder was installed at Rising Sun Mills last year and partially funded through the Trust Fund. The project partners are now working to remove Paragon Dam, which is located a quarter-mile upstream from the Rising Sun Mills fish ladder.

The Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association will receive $35,000 from the Trust Fund toward planning for fish passage restoration at the Lower Shannock Falls Dam in Richmond.  The removal of Shannock Falls Dam and abandonment of the adjacent mill race is the next step in the effort to restore fish passage in the upper Pawcatuck River. This work will open the Pawcatuck River system to nearly 1,300 acres of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous fish.

The Blackstone River Watershed Council will receive $35,000 to restore anadromous fish passage across two dams on the lower Blackstone River in Pawtucket.  This project is part of a larger effort to restore anadromous fish runs on the Blackstone River that have been obstructed for almost 200 years by human-built structures. The project will improve the Blackstone River ecosystem, increase recreational opportunities and provide economic benefits for the towns of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Cumberland and Lincoln.

The Council awarded $10,000 to the Town of Bristol for the restoration of the Silver Creek Salt Marsh, a 13-acre tidal estuary on the eastern shore of Bristol Harbor. The creek is tidally restricted by an old railroad bridge, the Route 114 Bridge and a town-owned foot bridge. These restrictions have impounded freshwater, diminished connectivity with the Bay and have allowed for Phragmites australis expansion in the salt marsh. The project goals include improvement of tidal flow and flushing, restoration of the native salt marsh plant community, and reduction of mosquito breeding habitat.

The Trust Fund also provided $5,000 to the DEM Mosquito Abatement Coordination Unit for the purchase of low-ground-pressure utility vehicle equipment that will be used to transport soil excavated from salt marsh water management projects to upland disposal sites. It can also be used to spray herbicide in Phragmites control projects. The equipment is made available for use in restoration projects statewide, and is often used as a source of non-federal, “in-kind” match for federal funding.

This year’s approval also includes a new contingency list of projects. In the case that a funded project cannot move forward, the funds awarded to that project will be reallocated to the highest ranked project on the contingency list.

Habitat restoration projects are funded through the RI Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund and are selected from recommendations by the RI Habitat Restoration Team, established by CRMC, Save The Bay and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program in 1998. Members of the team serve as a technical advisory committee for the CRMC as required by law. Funds for the program come from the state’s Oil Spill Prevention Administration and Response Act (OSPAR), established by the legislature following the 1996 North Cape oil spill. Each year, the Trust Fund and CRMC receive $225,000 from the OSPAR account to fund habitat restoration projects in the state. To date and including this year, the Trust Fund has awarded $1.2 million for 40 projects, which have leveraged more than $11 million in matching funds. This year’s funding leveraged more than $3.3 million, at a leverage ratio of 15:1. The full 2007-2008 Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund report will be available on CRMC’s web site at http://www.crmc.ri.gov/habitatrestoration.htmll. Photos of the projects are available upon request.