4 Falmouth Marine Wildlife Projects Awarded Grants

FALMOUTH, MA – Four Falmouth environmental protection projects were awarded funding by the Baker-Polito Administration on Thursday. The administration announced over $540,000 in grants for 16 projects working to restore and improve aquatic habitat, rivers and watersheds, and protect endangered marine animals, including at-risk sea turtles and the North Atlantic right whale.

The grants are funded by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, which has awarded more than $20 million since its founding in 1988. Funding for the program comes from the sale of the state’s three environmentally-themed specialty license plates: the Right Whale Tail, the Leaping Brook Trout, and the Blackstone Valley Mill.

The following Falmouth projects received funding:

Associated Scientists at Woods Hole (Woods Hole) - $6,000 has been awarded to help underwrite Right Whale News, a quarterly newsletter distributed electronically to enhance informed participation in efforts to conserve and recover the North Atlantic right whale and its habitats.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation (East Falmouth) - $17,060 has been awarded toimprove our understanding of sea turtle ecology in Cape Cod waters by conducting stable isotope and fatty acid analyses on various tissue types to asses general patterns in prey preferences and habitat utilization within and among sea turtle species.

The Sporting Safety, Conservation and Education Fund of Falmouth (Falmouth) - $59,810 has been awarded for completion of the design and permitting process required to remove an earthen dam and repair a fish ladder to create a more natural river channel and coldwater habitat to support brook trout in the Upper Childs River. This is a collaborative effort by many partners in the Falmouth and Mashpee communities, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole) - $74,274 has been awarded for a collaborative pilot study to gather critical physical and physiologic data from Leatherback sea turtles during Atlantic Large Whale and Sea Turtle Disentanglement events off Massachusetts; and to monitor post-release survival via satellite and acoustic telemetry. Post-release mortality data are important for the purpose of developing lethal and non-lethal incidental take estimates for NMFS Section 7 consultations for federal fisheries and for Section 10(a)(1)(B) permits for incidental taking of protected species in state fisheries.

"The Cape and Islands is unparalleled in its natural beauty and it is incumbent upon us to preserve our region for future generations," Falmouth Rep. Dylan Fernandes said in a statement. "Thank you to the Administration for investing in our natural resources and working to protect marine life."

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod in Dennis was also awarded $50,000 to improve habitat for at-risk fish by providing Report Cards on the health of Cape Cod’s waters, an Atlas of Water Restoration Needs, and a State of the Waters report to improve public knowledge of water quality and guide policy and restoration.

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