CRMC staffer to get WPWA Trustees Award

May 16, 2014, WAKEFIELD –The Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association will be presenting Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council Policy Analyst Caitlin Chaffee with its 2014 WPWA Trustees Award in recognition for her work on the Upper Pawcatuck River Fish Passage projects.

Chaffee, who has worked at the CRMC for almost a decade, oversees all habitat restoration projects that are permitted through or funded by the Council. James Turek of the NOAA Restoration Center is the other recipient this year.

The projects were funded in part through the RI Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund, which Chaffee administers on behalf of the CRMC, and an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award to support Rhode Island river ecosystem restoration efforts in the Pawcatuck and Ten Mile Rivers.

The ARRA grant, governed through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was awarded to the CRMC and allowed the WPWA and its project partners to complete removal of the Lower Shannock Falls dam and design and construction activities at the two remaining upstream dams at Horseshoe Falls and Kenyon Mill Dam.

Beginning with a feasibility study in 2007, the project partners worked to restore diadromous fish passage to the Pawcatuck River through a dam removal at Lower Shannock Falls, the construction of a fish ladder at Horseshoe Falls Dam and a dam removal and construction of a rock ramp at Kenyon Mill. The seven-year project has restored migratory fish access to approximately 1,300 acres of fish spawning and nursery habitat; increased food supply for a number of fish species; restored river connectivity and a more natural habitat; improved recreational use and provided additional flood storage area; and has created jobs.

“The Council is extremely proud of the accomplishments and recognition of Caitlin,” said CRMC Chair Anne Maxwell Livingston. “This award from the WPWA is a wonderful way to recognize all of the hard work, planning and management that she and all our staff do each day.”

Chaffee and Turek will receive their WPWA Trustees Awards at the organization’s annual meeting on May 28. The award is given each year in recognition of exemplary local efforts to support the ongoing initiatives of the organization and to protect and preserve the lands and waters of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed. 

“Without Caitlin’s assistance in securing funding for and administering the Upper Pawcatuck River Fish Passage Projects, restoring historic migratory fish runs to Worden Pond would not have been possible,” said Chris Fox, executive director of the WPWA. “Her efforts went well beyond that of simply providing technical assistance to the project. And for that, the WPWA board of trustees is most thankful and pleased to bestow this award to her.”