CRMC receives $3 million from NOAA for restoration projects

June 30, 2009, WAKEFIELD – The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and its project partners today received more than $3 million in federal competitive stimulus funding for six fish passage restoration projects on the Pawcatuck River and the Ten Mile River system.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded the funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with the intent that only “shovel-ready” projects are eligible for the stimulus monies. The funds will be used by the CRMC, along with its partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM), and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, to complete high-priority restoration projects already underway. Work on the six projects in Rhode Island is slated to begin in July 2009. The Rhode Island River Ecosystem Restoration project will restore and improve riverine habitat for migratory fish species, as well as associated riverine wetlands, upland riparian areas and ecological connections with upstream open water spawning grounds and downstream estuarine systems. Species that will benefit from the restoration include Atlantic salmon, American shad, blueback alewife, sea lamprey, American eel and brook trout, as well as striped bass, bluefish and birds including black crowned night heron and hooded merganser.

“NOAA is investing in green jobs for Americans to restore habitat for valuable fish and wildlife and strengthen coastal communities, making them more resilient to storms, sea-level rise and other effects of climate change,” Commerce under secretary of oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said. “In addition to the immediate jobs created by the projects, stronger and healthier coastal communities will boost our nation’s long-term economic health.”

Four of the projects – Horseshoe Falls, Omega Pond, Hunts Mills and Turner Reservoir Dams – require construction of Denil fish ladders, and eel passages will be constructed for the projects on the Ten Mile River. The other two projects – Lower Shannock Falls and Kenyon Mills – will require complete or partial removal of dam obstructions. DEM and the other project partners will monitor the fish ladders and fish passage at each location during the summer migration and spring-through-fall out-migration.

“These funds will assure success in our efforts to restore fisheries into the Ten Mile, Woonasquatucket, Pawtuxet and Pawcatuck Rivers,” said DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan. “These rivers once teemed with herring, alewives, eels and other migratory species that began to decline as Samuel Slater began the harnessing of rivers for the Industrial Revolution. I am thrilled with the opportunity to restore thousands of acres of breeding habitat for these important fisheries and their role in both sport and commercial fishing in Rhode Island.”

The projects will restore access to approximately 13 stream miles and 1,640 acres of spawning habitat, and will also improve habitat and biodiversity in the long-term to Narragansett and Little Narragansett Bays. It will also enhance the state’s fresh and salt water fisheries valued at more than $700 million, and will generate more than 15,000 jobs and improve recreational and educational opportunities for the communities associated with these river systems. Work is slated to begin on the Lower Shannock removal and at the Turner Reservoir and Hunt’s Mills Denil fish ladder next month. Construction will begin by July 2010 and end by December 2010 on the Horseshoe Falls and Omega Pond Dam Denil fish ladders and Kenyon Mills Dam removal.

“This was a very competitive process and I applaud CRMC for putting together a successful grant proposal to restore coastal areas and fish habitat,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee which oversees NOAA funding.  “These projects are shovel-ready and will quickly generate 18 jobs. These grants will also benefit the local economy by supporting the growth of Rhode Island’s fresh and saltwater fisheries.” Reed wrote a letter to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco supporting the CRMC’s application for the funding.

In February 2009, NOAA received $167 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to restore coastal habitat and help stimulate the nation’s economy. The agency received a total of 814 proposals from 34 states and five territories, totaling more than $3 billion in requests. NOAA selected 50 proposals from those submitted representing “high quality, high priority projects to restore U.S. coasts on a grand scale.”

Chris Fox, executive director of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association (WPWA) said, “The association is excited to be awarded this funding from NOAA. It will allow us to restore 1,300 acres associated with Worden’s Pond much faster than we projected – 2011 instead of 2018 – giving us seven extra spawning seasons. We have high expectations of the projects’ success and know they will greatly help Rhode Island’s fishing industry. This funding, only 2.3 percent of which will go toward WPWA project oversight – will also allow us to initiate all three Pawcatuck River projects concurrently. Thank you also to NOAA’s Rhode Island Restoration Team, without which this work would not be possible. The association has made it a priority to restore fish passage on the Wood-Pawcatuck River – for example, our work to upgrade the fish ladder at Bradford Dam in 2008 – but that work is only a small portion of what we do, and will continue to do, to protect the watershed.”

“The CRMC is thrilled to receive $3 million in much-needed funding from NOAA for six very worthy fish passage restoration projects,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M Tikoian. “These funds will restore miles of river and many acres of fish spawning habitat, and greatly enhance these riverine environments for fish and avian species, as well as for all Rhode Islanders. We cannot put a value on restoring these rivers to their natural state, but there is an immense benefit to the environment and to the Rhode Island economy in completing these restoration projects. We look forward to working with our project partners to complete this work, and thank them for their efforts.”

A view of Lower Shannock Falls (photo courtesy of the WPWA). More photos are available upon request.