Patrick Administration Awards Funds to Herring River Estuary Restoration Project

From the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs:

Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett today announced a $612,000 grant to advance the Herring River Estuary Restoration in Wellfleet and Truro, one of the largest and most ambitious coastal habitat restoration projects in New England.

Continuing the Patrick Administration’s commitment to meeting the challenge of climate change, the project will restore tidal flow and sediment transport to approximately 1,000 acres of former tidal wetlands and six miles of coastal waterways that have been blocked for more than a century. The improvements will enable the wetlands to build elevation and keep pace with future sea level rise.

“The Patrick Administration is committed to preparing our communities and infrastructure for the impacts of climate change,” said Secretary Bartlett. “Restoring these critical ecosystems on Cape Cod and across Massachusetts will leave future generations with a more resilient Commonwealth.”

“Restoration of the Herring River is a priority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Commissioner Mary Griffin. “The project seeks to restore the connection between Herring River, Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine so that it will once again serve as a critical nursery for marine fisheries and provide many valuable ecosystem services to the people of Cape Cod.”

The grant, awarded by the DFG’s Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), is in addition to more than $60,000 in funding awarded earlier this year. The project is being managed by Friends of Herring River, a non-profit organization based in Wellfleet, and earlier this year also received a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust.

“This funding will support the restoration of an environmentally significant estuary of great importance to the citizens of Wellfleet and the entire Cape,” said Wellfleet Town Administrator, Harry Terkanian. “The project is a unique partnership between federal, state and local governments that will advance both ecological and economic interests by improving water quality and restoring a vast area of habitat that supports our commercial and recreational fisheries.”

“This grant from the Division of Ecological Restoration will support critically important engineering and other technical services to advance the largest and most complex tidal restoration project in the northeast,” said Friends of Herring River President, Don Palladino. “We greatly appreciate the state’s partnership and investment to help move the project forward.”

Over the coming year, project partners will complete initial environmental reviews, prepare engineering designs for multiple infrastructure elements, develop technical data for future permit applications, and work with abutting land owners to develop mitigation measures that protect private structures from higher tide levels.

“Restoration of the Herring River is one of the most important environmental projects on the Lower Cape in a generation,” said Jay Coburn, Chair of the Truro Board of Selectmen. “We are grateful for this vital support from the Commonwealth.”

“The Herring River project, the biggest salt water restoration project proposed on the East Coast, will carefully reverse more than a century of human-made environmental impact, and restore a fertile, beautiful salt marsh and wetlands,” said Senator Dan Wolf. “I applaud the efforts of the Division of Ecological Restoration, with strong support from the Cape Cod National Seashore and other federal partners, to make it possible for the towns of Wellfleet and Truro to breathe new life into this treasured coastal resource.”

“I remember being with Sen. Ted Kennedy at the Herring River bridge in Wellfleet back in 2006 when he announced this project and spoke so eloquently of its importance,” said Representative Sarah Peake. “While there is still much work to be done and many issues to be resolved, the announcement and payment of the $600,000 grant will go a long way towards turning Sen. Kennedy’s vision into reality.”

Members of the Herring River Restoration Committee charged with developing the project’s design include the Towns of Wellfleet and Truro, National Park Service, NOAA Restoration Center, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the DER. Other project supporters include the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Cape Cod Conservation District, Massachusetts Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, Restore America’s Estuaries, Conservation Law Foundation, American Rivers, Ducks Unlimited, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, and the Friends of Herring River.

More information on the project can be found at www.friendsofherringriver.org

The mission of the Division of Ecological Restoration is to restore and protect the Commonwealth’s rivers, wetlands and watersheds for the benefit of people and the environment. The Division was created in 2009 with the merger of the Riverways and Wetland Restoration Programs.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is responsible for promoting the conservation and enjoyment of the Commonwealth’s natural resources. DFG carries out this mission through land protection and wildlife habitat management, management of inland and marine fish and wildlife species, and ecological restoration of fresh water, salt water, and terrestrial habitats. DFG promotes enjoyment of the Massachusetts environment through outdoor skills workshops, fishing festivals and other educational programs, and by enhancing access to the Commonwealth’s rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.