Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, Save The Bay, CRMC celebrate Pawcatuck River Fish Passage Restoration Project

KENYON, R.I., June 27, 2014 – On Monday, June 30, 2014, the Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association will celebrate the completion of the Pawcatuck River fish passage restoration project.

The projects were funded in part through the RI Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund, administered by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), and an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award.

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, also funded through the Trust Fund, 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.