Coalition Secures Remainder of Bouchard Oil Spill Penalty to Protect More Than 640 Acres of Watershed Land

October 16, 2006

CONTACT:

Mark Rasmussen The Coalition for Buzzards Bay
(508) 981-9342; rasmussen@savebuzzardsbay.org

Anthony Cucchi, The Trustees of Reservations
(508) 636-7501; acucchi@ttor.org

Dexter Mead, Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust
(508) 991-2289; dexter@dnrt.org

Jim Munise, Wareham Land Trust
(508) 531-1332; jmunise@bridgew.edu

John Berg, The Nature Conservancy
(401) 331-7110, ext. 22; jberg@tnc.org

NEW BEDFORD, MA—More than 640 acres of land in the Buzzards Bay watershed will be permanently protected from development thanks to $2.4 million granted to The Coalition for Buzzards Bay and a host of partners including The Trustees of Reservations, the Wareham Land Trust, the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, and The Nature Conservancy by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Program. The funds will be used to underwrite four land acquisitions and a number of salt marsh restoration projects in Bourne, Dartmouth, Falmouth, Mattapoisett, Plymouth, Wareham and Tiverton, Rhode Island.

The $2.4 million granted in this latest round of NAWCA awards represents the remainder of the Bouchard Oil Spill penalty money that was earmarked in 2004 for migratory bird habitat protection in Buzzards Bay as a result of the company's negligence which caused the April 2003 oil spill. The Coalition and 25 local, state, and national partners have now secured the entire $6.7 million in NAWCA funds set aside under that penalty to help protect 1150 acres of coastal lands. Previous awards include $2.3 million in December 2004 to protect 285 acres in Westport, Fairhaven, and Mattapoisett, and in July 2005, the partnership secured $2 million to help protect another 223 acres in the three Bay towns.

The four Buzzards Bay projects funded in this round were among just 26 approved nationwide by the USFWS at a September 13 meeting. "These funds will enable us to continue to work with our watershed partners to protect sensitive habitats critical to limiting further water quality degradation in the Bay," said Coalition for Buzzards Bay Land Protection Director, Allen Decker. "The NAWCA grants will also help us to expand our efforts to restore salt marsh that is vital to the Bay's wildlife and migratory birds." The Coalition will administer and coordinate the grants and work with project partners by making funds available for use and providing regular progress and financial updates to NAWCA.

Specifically, the NAWCA funds will be used to protect two properties in Dartmouth: $950,000 will help to acquire a conservation restriction on 153 acres of salt marsh and forested wetland habitat associated with Dike Creek, a tributary of Apponagansett Bay, another $300,000 will help the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) protect 86 acres of salt marsh and adjacent land and uplands along the Slocums River.

Protecting the Dike Creek property has long been a priority of The Coalition for Buzzards Bay and its partner, The Trustees of Reservation (TTOR) "Thanks to a group effort and funding support through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, what began as a great conservation idea will now become a tremendous conservation success," said Anthony Cucchi, TTOR Land Protection Specialist. "Local supporters have spent years trying to save the property and it now appears that our persistence is finally paying off."

Commenting on the Slocums River Project, Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust Executive Director Dexter Mead added, "This grant will help preserve the most significant unprotected property on the Slocums River. With more than 900 acres of land along its shores already protected, the Slocums River provides excellent coastal river habitat by the side of Buzzards Bay for many species of waterfowl and other wildlife."

In addition to the Dartmouth projects, $800,000 of the NAWCA funds will help to protect more than 150 acres of wetlands in Falmouth, Bourne, Wareham, Mattapoisett and Wareham/Plymouth, including the restoration of 90 acres of salt marsh habitat in Falmouth, Bourne, Mattapoisett, and Wareham. "The Wareham Land Trust is happy to be part of the effort to protect the quality of our bay and are especially thankful to be able to participate with The Coalition for Buzzards Bay in the NAWCA program," said Jim Munise, President of the Wareham Land Trust. "The habitat we are protecting with the help of this funding has a mile of river frontage along the Agawam River, 68 acres of pine barren habitat and sits over part of the Water Districts Zone II Drinking Water Aquifer."

The remaining $300,000 of the grant will help The Nature Conservancy protect 230 acres at Tiverton Great Swamp, Rhode Island. Located on the western boundary of the Buzzards Bay watershed, this pristine wetland tract contributes the single greatest source of freshwater, via Adamsville Brook, to the West Branch of the Westport River. The NAWCA grant will protect critical forested wetland habitat and associated uplands for migrating songbirds, and improve conditions for waterfowl and shorebirds.

"We are very grateful to the Coalition for its endorsement and support of this Rhode Island project which has allowed the Conservancy to finally bridge the divide between its coastal and forest protection work along the Sakonnet River and watershed protection for Buzzards Bay," said John Berg, Sakonnet Landscape Manager for The Nature Conservancy.

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The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its watershed. The organization works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research and advocacy and is supported by more than 4,700 members.