NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM PARTNERING TO RESTORE A COASTAL POND 4>EPA On September 21,2007, salt water from Mount Hope Bay flowed into Town Pond, a historic coastal pond on Narragansett Bay, for the first time in 53 years. The area had been filled as a disposal site for dredged material around 1950, completely destroying its value as a marine and estuarine habitat. The res- toration will provide habitat for a rich variety of fish and wildlife, from oysters and blue crabs to flounder and great blue herons. THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION Narragansett Bay Estuary Program The 2007 restoration marked the culmination of more than seven years of planning, engineer- ing, and construction, achieved through a partnership of Federal, state, local, and non-govern- mental organizations. The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) played an ac- tive role throughout the resto- ration process: working with the community to build support, convening technical experts to design the restoration, and working with governmental and non-governmental organizations to secure nearly six million dol- lars for construction of the larg- est wetland restoration project ever undertaken on Narragan- sett Bay. Until 1950, Town Pond was a 40- acre tidal pond with salt marshes along its edges, connected to the salt waters of Mount Hope Bay by a large tidal channel. During dredging operations for the Fall River, Mass., shipping channel, the pond was filled with mud dredged from the bottom of the Bay. The fill operation prevented tidal exchange to the interior of the marsh by raising the area above high tide, and over the next several decades, the former pond evolved from a mudflat to a 40-acre monoculture of the in- vasive reed Phragmites. In the late 1990's, the late Sen. John Chafee authorized the R.I. Ecosystem Restoration Study at the request of NBEP. The effort was undertaken by the Corps, NBEP and other partners to identify coastal restoration op- portunities throughout Rhode Island's coastal areas. One such opportunity identified was Town Pond. Under Section 1135 of the Federal Water Resources Devel- opment Act, the Corps is funded to restore coastal sites damaged by past navigational projects. The Federal government provides 75 percent of the cost of these projects; local partners must pay the remainder. The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, R.I. De- partment of Environmental Man- agement (RIDEM) and the Corps worked with Federal, state and local partners through the R.I. Habitat Restoration Team to de- velop a restoration plan for Town Pond. The project restores more than 20 acres of historic salt pond habitat as well as fringing wet- lands, coastal grassland habitat, and public access to the shore- line. In so doing, it is intended to restore spawning habitat Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers EFFECTIVE EFFICIENT ADAPTIVE COLLABORATIVE ------- for winter flounder and critical habitat for a variety of valuable estuarine plants and animals, including oysters, blue crabs, menhaden, and waterfowl such as brant. The project will also protect nearby freshwater re- sources, allow continued mainte- nance access to existing electric transmission lines, and provide for public access and viewing of the restored habitat. The Town of Portsmouth is strongly support- ive of the project and has been a consistent partner. Much of the non-Federal funding for the proj- ect was provided through state sources such as RIDEM and the R.I. Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund, which is administered by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council. Additional funding was provided by the R.I. Corporate Wetlands Partnership, Ducks Unlimited, and Aquidneck Is- land Land Trust. Roger Williams University provided significant in-kind contribution through real estate easements, and is now leading a project to restore oys- ters in the pond. Visit www.nbep.org to learn more about this and other NBEP efforts. EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP) is a unique and successful coastal watershed-based program established in 1987 under the Clean Water Act Amendments. The NEP involves the public and collaborates with partners to pro- tect, restore, and maintain the wa- ter quality and ecological integrity of 28 estuaries of national signifi- cance located in 18 coastal states and Puerto Rico. For more information about the NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/ estuaries. The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative. EPA-842F09001 ------- |