Arlington, MA - Critical improvements to wetland and shoreline habitat in the Mystic River watershed are underway--thanks to advocacy by the Mystic River Watershed Association and Green Roots Chelsea and a $1.27 million grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) fund.
The Mystic River Watershed Association led the development of the successful $1,267,685 proposal to NAWCA that includes eight on-the-ground restoration projects. Improvements to the Mystic River watershed include:
Creating a living shoreline at Draw 7 State Park in Somerville;
Removing flow impediments, restoring salt marsh, and creating healthy habitat at Mill Creek in Chelsea;
Building an improved fish passage at Scalley Dam, thereby opening up 100 acres of herring spawning grounds at Horn Pond in Woburn;
Installing a trash boom along the Malden River to reduce litter entering the river;
Almost 20 acres of wetland establishment and restoration adjacent to Shaker Glen Conservation Area in Woburn, increasing contiguous quality habitat for birds and wildlife.
MyRWA has also developed new partnerships outside of the Mystic River watershed that will yield high-value restoration on a regional scale . In particular, funds will go to the following projects:
The restoration of almost 150 acres of salt marsh restoration in the Great Marsh on the North Shore, piloting cutting edge practices such as ditch remediation (filling man-made ditches with cut salt hay) and runneling (digging very small channels to drain man-made salt pans)
Dune restoration at Duxbury Beach to help preserve shoreline in the face of climate change and restoring habitat for nesting Piping Plovers and Least Tern
“Far too often urban centers are overlooked for restoration dollars--with funders instead focusing on more pristine locations,” said Patrick Herron, Executive Director, Mystic River Watershed Association. “This is an outdated way of thinking though--urban rivers can be important habitat for birds and fish--and they are vitally important for the health of people in our communities.”
Charged with violating the Clean Water Act through negligence that resulted in 15,200 gallons of petroleum product being spilled into the Lower Mystic River, ExxonMobil signed a plea agreement in 2009 that included a fine, the cost of cleanup, and a community service payment (CSP) that ultimately totaled $1 million to the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and $4.6 million to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) fund. All funds managed by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) were immediately put to work on stewardship and water quality improvements in the Mystic River watershed. In contrast, NAWCA funds have not been successfully applied to complete restoration in the Mystic River watershed. GreenRoots, Mystic River Watershed Association, Conservation Law Foundation and Alternatives for Community and Environment were involved in the original plea agreement directing funds to the Mystic River.
“It is great to see this funding come back full circle to the communities where the funds are needed most and where the impacts are the greatest,” said Roseann Bongiovanni, Executive Director of Green Roots Chelsea.
The official start date for the projects will be Fall 2020. All the work will be done in collaboration with the Town of Essex, City of Chelsea, City of Woburn, City of Malden, GreenRoots, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, The Nature Conservancy and the Duxbury Beach Reservation.
