With new funding, NepRWA can now begin the process of removing two small dams and modifying a third to benefit native brook trout populations.
BOURNE – July 24, 2015 – At an event at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito today announced $480,568 in grants from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) for projects to protect and restore rivers, watersheds, and wildlife across the Commonwealth.
“The Environmental Trust has been investing in the waters of Massachusetts for over twenty-five years,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “Our coastal regions and rivers are just some of the natural resources that make Massachusetts such a great place to live and visit, and these grants will continue to improve these incredible resources.”
Since it was founded in 1988 as part of the Boston Harbor cleanup, MET has awarded more than $20 million in grants to organizations statewide that provide a wide array of environmental services, from supporting water projects in communities to protecting coastal habitats. Funding for this program comes from the sale of the state’s three environmentally-themed specialty license plates: the Right Whale Tail, the Leaping Brook Trout and the Blackstone Valley Mill.
“The grants being awarded by the Baker-Polito Administration will help to open miles of rivers to fish, improve water quality, and provide new recreational opportunities,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “This funding has been made possible because over 40,000 drivers in Massachusetts choose to purchase one of the three environmental license plates, and I applaud our state’s residents for their continued commitment to the Commonwealth’s environmental well-being.”
You can show your support of water resources in Massachusetts by ordering a specialty, “Preserve the Trust” license plate. Click here for more information.
$20,000 has been awarded to the Neponset River Watershed Associationto begin the process of removing two small dams and modifying a third to benefit native brook trout populations. The project will pilot an innovative, low-cost approach to addressing smaller structures using a combination of watershed association staff and in-kind labor and expertise provided by academic partners and private engineering firms. Project partners include the Neponset Watershed Association, the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Wellesley College, and the MA Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership.
This project is funded by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust. For more information please log onto www.mass.gov/eea/met
