Saugus gets $1M grant to restore marsh

SAUGUS ?Town Manager Andrew Bisignani announced Thursday that Saugus has received a $1 million grant to help restore a portion of Rumney Marsh.The grant, which was awarded by the National Coastal Wetland Conservation Grant Program, will allow the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire 297 acres of the salt marsh for preservation while restoring an additional 33 acres. Rumney Marsh is the largest salt marsh system in the urban Boston area.?Rumney Marsh is a very important ecological system,” said Bisignani. “Over the years it has deteriorated and has been encroached upon and lost a lot of its ability to nurture and regenerate itself. This will restore the wetlands.”The Rumney Marsh area sits between Route 1 and Route 107 at the mouth of the Saugus River.According to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the restoration is a part of $20.5 million in grants to support 24 projects in 13 states, and will help preserve nesting, breeding and feeding habitat for birds such as the American black duck, the black-bellied plover, the great blue heron, the piping plover and the northern harrier.Joan LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Saugus River Watershed Council, said the project is long overdue.?It?s a great way to start the new year,” said LeBlanc. “2011 was a difficult year, but 2012 is looking brighter already. The project has been on the books for such a long time. The planning was in the works for over a decade.”LeBlanc said “significant portions” of the old I-95 road bed will be removed along with other fill, and new culverts and tide gates will be installed.In the 1970s, Rumney Marsh was partially filled in with a 30-foot embankment from the abandoned I-95 extension project. A satellite view of the marsh today shows what looks like a dirt road running through the middle of it.LeBlanc said she wasn?t sure when the project would start, but said it would be at least a “few months” before the public meeting process begins.?(The DCR) is going to have to spend a fair amount of time on the community process and that?s something we?ll be helpful with,” said LeBlanc. “We?ll help (the DCR) with public outreach to make sure everyone locally is on board with the project and has a full understanding of the details.”According to Bisignani, the grant will also be matched by $2.3 million in funds from the DCR and “in-kind” funds, which Bisignani said will consist of land in Rumney Marsh.?We have some land that?s being turned over to the DCR,” said Bisignani. “That land has value and they?re using that for part of the match. It?s just a portion of it.”View a map of the marsh here.View Larger MapMatt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].