Federal, state and local partners celebrate restoration of Sesuit Creek saltmarsh, Dennis

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NRCS State Conservationist Christine Clarke (center) joins federal, state and local partners in cutting a ribbon celebrating the Sesuit Creek project.

DENNIS, Mass. (June 13, 2008) -- Federal, state and local officials joined Cape Cod residents in celebrating the completion of a $1.5 million multi-year project to restore a salt marsh and fish passage for migrating herring on Cape Cod. After remarks by dignitaries and awards to project leaders, a ribbon was cut on a bridge over a new box culvert that will improve tidal exchange and enhance upstream saltmarsh ecosystem health in Sesuit Creek.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided technical assistance and $250,000 in federal funds to the Town of Dennis to restore the Sesuit Creek saltmarsh, a 163 acre marine ecosystem that is bisected by Bridge Street, a town road. In the past, the area was used to produce salt marsh hay. A culvert pipe installed when Bridge Street was built in the 1940's has limited tidal flow and has degraded the 57 acre upper marsh system, which has been detrimental to native vegetation and marine life habitat.

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The new box culvert under Bridge Street in Dennis allows proper tidal flow in Sesuit Creek.

The restoration involved replacing the failed, 2-foot diameter culvert beneath Bridge Street with two 12-foot wide by 10-foot tall box culverts – 60 times the size of the original culvert. This wider opening will allow much more saltwater to flow upstream, where it will restore the marsh’s natural tidal flow, salinity, and native vegetation, bringing life back to 65 acres of salt marsh. The increased flow will also allow river herring to swim upstream to spawn in Scargo Lake.

The project also addressed a public safety problem. Bridge Street had a recurring sink hole in the road because of the failed culvert, causing the town to close the bridge over Sesuit Creek to traffic for several months in 2007. The new culverts will allow vehicles to safely travel over the creek; a new sidewalk promotes pedestrian safety for a once-dangerous crossing.

The NRCS funding was provided through the agency’s Wetlands Reserve Program, a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on land that has been used for agriculture.

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Sesuit Creek saltmarsh, Dennis, Mass.

NRCS worked with several federal partners on the project, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as state and local partners such as the Cape Cod Conservation District, the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management’s Wetlands Restoration Program, the Massachusetts Highway Department, the town of Dennis, and the Sesuit Neck Homeowners Association.

“The partnerships on this project – from the federal to state to town level – were extraordinary,” said Christine S. Clarke, NRCS State Conservationist for Massachusetts.

Since 2003, some $4.4 million in WRP funds have been spent in Massachusetts to protect, restore and enhance Bay State wetlands.

Media Contact:

Diane Baedeker Petit
413-253-4371
Diane.Petit@ma.usda.gov

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