State Grant Awarded To Frost Fish Creek Restoration Project

CHATHAM – Efforts to restore the Frost Fish Creek estuary got a boost last week with the announcement that the project received a $120,000 state grant.

 The Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration funds will support data collection and development of flood mitigation designs for the project.

 A cooperative effort among the town, the state and the Chatham Conservation Foundation, which owns the property seaward of Frost Fish Creek, the project’s goal is to improve the tidal exchange between Pleasant Bay and the creek to restore the creek’s impaired salt marshes.

 The origins of the project date to at least 2019, when the town appropriated Community Preservation Act funds to study the impact of sea level rise on Frost Fish Creek. At the same time, the state was considering upgrading the culvert that runs beneath Route 28 between Pleasant Bay and the creek. Doing so will restore salt marsh at the lower level of the creek, converting it from a primarily freshwater system back into a more estuarine system.

 The state grant covers the lower portion of the creek, said Natural Resources Director Greg Berman. The foundation is seeking $100,000 in CPA funds to examine the impact on a former cranberry bog at the upper reaches of the creek. 

 “This would be a nice blending to see if this other area can kind of tie into the larger project,” Berman said at the Feb. 25 select board meeting.

 The select board voted unanimously to support the CPA request at the May 11 annual town meeting.

 The Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) grant was among 12 announced last week by the Healey-Driscoll administration. A total of $1.4 million was awarded to projects that support river and wetland restoration with the goal of strengthening resilience to climate change, reducing flood risks, improving water quality and public safety and restoring wildlife habitat, according to a press release.

 The DER has a culvert replacement initiative to help communities replace outdated culverts. The state has a goal of upgrading some 2,500 culverts across the commonwealth by 2050. The Healey-Driscoll administration has proposed investing some $60 million in these programs to accelerate progress toward the goals, according to the press release.

 “Restoring wetlands and streams, removing dams, and replacing culverts make our communities safer and more resilient to the increasing extreme weather events,” Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said in a statement. “Investing in this work benefits all of us now and into the future.”