Deb Haaland Secretary at U.S. Department of Interior | Official website
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz traveled to Massachusetts and Rhode Island this week, where she highlighted how investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and America the Beautiful initiative are helping restore ecosystems for the benefit of both people and wildlife.
In Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Assistant Secretary Estenoz joined local and state leaders to celebrate the completion of the High Street dam removal project that will restore the river and support aquatic connectivity. Funded with a $1.55 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the dam removal has eliminated a downstream barrier to migratory fish passage on the Town River and its aging infrastructure that posed a risk to public safety. The removal of the dam reconnected 10 miles of river to benefit alewife, blueback herring, American eel, sea lamprey, and American shad and opened access to 354 acres of spawning habitat for several migratory fish species.
Across the country, millions of barriers are fragmenting rivers, blocking fish migration, and putting communities at higher risk of flooding. Improving fish passage is one of the most effective ways to help conserve vulnerable species while building safer infrastructure for communities and improving climate resilience. The President’s Investing in America agenda makes historic investments in river restoration and aquatic connectivity through a $200 million boost for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) National Fish Passage Program and through multiple other partnership-driven conservation grant programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, such as the America the Beautiful Challenge.
In Narragansett, Rhode Island today, Assistant Secretary Estenoz toured a new project funded by a $1 million investment from the America the Beautiful Challenge that will recover natural salt marsh hydrology degraded by legacy impacts and address non-native invasive species inhibiting natural processes that at-risk species like the saltmarsh sparrow rely on. The project will improve the resilience and landward migration of 738 acres of salt marsh and coastal upland habitat at five salt marsh ecosystems by creating runnels and maintaining ditches, removing structural barriers, and managing invasive species.
America the Beautiful Challenge grants support projects that conserve, restore, and connect wildlife habitats and ecosystems while improving community resilience and access to nature. These efforts also advance President Biden’s ambitious environmental justice goals. The Challenge launched in 2022 as a partnership with the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Native Americans in Philanthropy; it is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In its second year, the program awarded 74 grants totaling $141.3 million, leveraging an additional $12.1 million in grantee match for a total conservation investment of $153.4 million. More than 40 percent of projects that received funding were implemented by Indigenous communities.
Assistant Secretary Estenoz wrapped up her trip in Providence, Rhode Island where she visited Riverside Park to meet with key partners to highlight the success of the Providence Urban Wildlife Conservation Partnership. Since 2013, this Service has worked with diverse community organizations to connect Providence residents to nature. The Partnership improves vital urban wildlife habitat offers world-class environmental education opportunities expands access to outdoor recreation.
The Assistant Secretary also visited Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School where she met with teachers who shared their environmental education experience as part of Partnership's Teacher's Institute Program. Through this Program Service partners provide teachers opportunities spend week field introduce them field biology wildlife conservation Services’ work goal bringing lessons back classroom Teachers receive year-round support outdoor learning funded field trip Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge.
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