Posted on June 14, 2023
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper recently announced the award of $2,183,779 in federal grant funding for ecological restoration in Truro’s Pamet River.
The money comes through the state’s Coastal Zone Management Habitat Protection and Restoration Awards.
The grants, provided through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were secured by EEA’s Office of Coastal Zone Management, which developed the project alongside the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration and the Town of Truro.
The Pamet River Restoration Project will use the funds to aid efforts to advance modeling, design, and permitting to restore tidal flow at five river locations currently being impacted by railroad and roadway crossings.
The funds will also help conduct a feasibility study and gather data to promote natural tidal flow, salt marsh function, water quality, and fish passage within the river system with the goal of restoring hundreds of acres of highly productive salt marsh and estuary habitat and improve coastal resilience against the negative impacts of climate change.
The project has been designated as a Priority Ecological Restoration Project by the DER’s Priority Project Program.
Funding partners include the Town of Truro as well as the Cape Cod Conservation District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, which previously contributed $3.2 million t the project and plan to invest an additional $2.7 million in pending donations.
“Environmental Restoration requires a long-term commitment to bring projects from planning and permitting to shovels in the ground,” said Tepper.
“These projects are excellent examples of how we can harness partnerships to deliver for Massachusetts residents.”
