Merrimack River Watershed Council Wins $61K State Grant
The state awarded grants to 25 ecological restoration projects and partnerships Friday, including the Lawrence-based organization.
Christopher Huffaker, Patch Staff
Posted Fri, Dec 17, 2021 at 12:37 pm ET
The Merrimack River Watershed Council was awarded $61,553 for restoration work.
LAWRENCE, MA — The Merrimack River Watershed Council was awarded $61,553 for restoration work, the state said Friday as part of nearly $1 million in grants to 25 ecological projects across Massachusetts.
The grant was part of the Division of Ecological Restoration’s new “Regional Restoration Partnerships Program” and will establish the Merrimack Restoration Partnership to help plan and implement restoration work in the watershed.
“As the impacts associated with climate change are felt throughout the Commonwealth, our Administration continues to support projects in communities across the state that increase Massachusetts’ climate resilience,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a news release. “This ecological restoration work directly aligns with our goals, which will have long lasting benefits within the many regions of the state.”
“DER’s new Regional Restoration Partnerships Program seeks to build capacity of local and regional organizations to collaboratively advance restoration work, increasing the pace and scale of ecological restoration throughout the Commonwealth,” the state said. “DER’s new Regional Restoration Partnerships Program helps non-profit organizations and Regional Planning Agencies increase their capacity to lead and support ecological restoration within their regions through direct financial and technical assistance.”
The Merrimack River award “will support a diverse network of partners and stakeholders to develop a strategic restoration vision at the watershed scale, implement high-visibility projects, fill a climate-resilience education gap, and increase connections between agencies, community leaders, landowners, and practitioners,” the state said. “The partnership will support river and stream barrier removal projects, in-stream habitat enhancement/restoration and climate resilience activities, and riparian restoration and floodplain connectivity work in the Merrimack River watershed. This year’s funds will be used to develop restoration planning and feasibility studies, public education and communication tool development, and to support partners working on implementation activities.”
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Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.
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