FALMOUTH – Restore America’s Estuaries granted organizations based on Cape Cod and around Buzzards Bay with over $1 million for the preservation of the area’s coastal waters and watersheds.
The money comes in association with the Southeast New England Program, created by the Environmental Protection Agency.
At a presentation held at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve last week, SNEP Watershed Grants were presented to the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay Coalition, Falmouth Rod & Gun Club, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The money will be used for projects such as storm water management, research, and natural wetland restoration.
Bourne Congressman Bill Keating, one of the key supporters of these grants, said protecting water is critical.
“We have become the laboratory experiment because of our expertise and because of our fragile environment, frankly, on these issues,” Keating said.
“What we’re doing here is not only just mitigating effects in our region and the environment. We’re moving for cost effective approaches.”
Keating said projects like these will motivate the public to care for the environment moving forward.
“This will really propel us forward, but I want everyone to realize: We, in a sense, are the leaders around the rest of the country and, I hope, the world on these issues,” he said.
Representatives of U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren read statements supporting the grants as well.
For more information on the SNEP grants, click here.
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
