WELLFLEET – The largest salt marsh restoration project in the northeast received a big financial boost this week.
The Friends of Herring River got a $612,000 grant from the state this week to apply towards their project to improve tidal flow to the river. Proponents say the extensive project is necessary to repair over 100 years of damage to the estuary.
“[The river] was diked off over 100 years ago in an attempt at the time to try and control mosquito populations, and unfortunately it’s had a lot of very detrimental effects on the health of the river,” said Friends of Herring River Project Coordinator Margo Fenn. “So this will restore it to what it should be and improve it’s health, both for fisheries and shellfishing and also recreational access,” Fenn added.
The Friends of Herring River also received over $700,000 dollars last month from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The money will be used for engineering plans for the restoration.
Herring River is one of the largest estuaries in New England.
