Historic Gooseneck Cove Restored

PROVIDENCE (September 14, 2009) – Save The Bay, the City of Newport, Senator Jack Reed, RI Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, the Coastal Resources Management Council and Restore America’s Estuaries and other state and local partners today celebrated the restoration of Gooseneck Cove salt marsh. After 70 years of degradation, restoration was completed this spring.

Nearly 14 acres of salt marsh within the cove have been lost since 1939, and water quality and fish habitat have been severely degraded due to restricted tidal flow in this 64 acre coastal wetland.

“The amount of marsh loss we have seen in the last two decades at Gooseneck Cove is significant and it is continuing today,” said Jonathan Stone, Executive Director of Save The Bay.

“But this project can help reverse this trend. By allowing more tidal flow into the cove and, even more importantly, out of the cove, we expect to prevent further loss of marsh plants and improve habitat for the wildlife that depend on them.”

The project, which was identified by Save The Bay in 1996, involved replacing culverts on Ocean Avenue and Hazard Road, and removoving a defunct dam in the center of the wetland system. These barriers had altered the natural flow of tides into and out of the marsh, causing marsh plants to die-off and the surface of the marsh to erode. This led to decreased water quality, increased flooding, and the introduction of invasive vegetation.

“This is an historic moment in Rhode Island. The project marks our state’s first intentional dam removal and commemorates over 5000 acres of aquatic habitat restoration that NRCS has been able to enroll in Farm Bill conservation programs such as the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) over the past five years,” said Pooh Vongkhamdy, State Conservationist for NRCS. "While much work remains to be completed in restoring our state’s coastal habitats, this project will result in immediate positive effects.”

By removing these barriers, this restoration is expected to improve water quality and growing conditions for native marsh plants and improve habitat of the marsh and tidal creeks for fish such as striped bass and bluefish, shellfish, waterfowl and shorebirds. It will also reduce flooding and make the marsh more resilient to storm damage.

These restoration efforts were made possible through collaboration with a wide group of partners, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NRCS, and the City of Newport.

“This wetland restoration is a testament to the power of collaborative efforts,” said Patricia Kurkul, Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “Improving this cove and wetland not only contributes to the health and well being of the fish and wildlife that call it home, but for the people of Rhode Island.”

This restoration is expected to improve water quality and growing conditions for native marsh plants and improve habitat of the marsh and tidal creeks for fish, such as striped bass and bluefish; shellfish, waterfowl and shorebirds. It will also reduce flooding and make the marsh more resilient to storm damage.

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