2000 Partnership Award Recipients

Maine Coastal Wetland Restoration Partnership (Maine)

The Maine Habitat Restoration Partnership has developed a model restoration process that utilizes a voluntary accomplishment-driven, ecosystem-based approach to implementing coastal wetland restoration projects on public and private lands. This partnership provides funds and technical support through a broad array of sources and has catalyzed additional efforts to support restoration efforts, including the development of successful outreach strategies to increase partner awareness and enhance grassroots support. The partnership has successfully restored 150 acres on the Ralph Waldo Tyler State Wildlife Management Area (by re-establishing a natural interspersion of salt hay and permanent panne habitat), and an additional 100 acres of coastal wetlands managed by the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Wetlands Restoration and Banking Program (Massachusetts)

This is the first state office in the country dedicated to wetlands restoration. Utilizing the NERIT as its steering committee, this program has evolved into the corporate wetlands restoration partnership. The MA EOEA, in cooperation with The Gillette company, broke ground on April 10 for the first project to begin under this new program, Sagamore Marsh, will restore 50 acres of wetlands and over 50 acres as associated estuarine habitat.

Little Falls Fishway Construction (Maryland)

The Little Falls Dam is located just north of the District of Columbia. Because of its location, it effectively cuts off anadromous fish stocks from their spawning grounds. An existing fishway located at Snake Island, was never successful in letting these fish pass upstream. The Little Falls Fishway Construction process is a cooperative effort between the state - Maryland Department of Natural Resource and Federal - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are responsible for fish passage and dam operation, respectively. Many other Federal and non-federal partners, such as the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the District of Columbia, are involved because the fishway will hopefully restore American shad to the Potomac watershed.

Fort McHenry Restoration Team – NAIB (Maryland)

The team has been working to restore and maintain a 10-acre tidal wetland adjacent to the Fort McHenry National Park. This wetland was created in 1982 as part of a mitigation requirement and has been undergoing cleanup (removal of debris and invasive species). The team has also developed a monitoring program to monitor the functionality of created wetlands. Education efforts include hands-on experiences and other educational formats.

Rains Mill Dam (North Carolina)

The privately-owned Rains Mill Dam has blocked 49 miles of spawning habitat to anadromous fish species such as American shad, striped bas and Atlantic sturgeon. Utilizing a Marine Corps demolition unit, this dam was blown-up with C-4 explosives in December 1999. In addition to the opening of former anadromous fish habitat, the removal of the dam will result in improved water quality and enhanced recreational opportunities.

Breton Island Restoration Team ( Louisiana)

Breton Island is part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge System. Between 1996 and 1999, Breton Island lost 54 acres, mostly in response to the 1998 Hurricane George. In 1999, using USACOE Section 204 authority, the restoration team placed 1,200,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet site on the gulf-side of Breton Island. This activity restored approximately 26 acres of the northern Breton Island. As a result of this project, 620 acres of shallow intertidal waters that provide essential fish habitat were protected.

Los Osos/Morro Bay Coastal Dunes Project (California)

This multi-agency effort has successfully developed an acquisition plan for the Los Osos Coastal Dunes area of California, and has successfully acquired several key parcels. The plan calls for acquisition of 1200 acres of undeveloped land surrounding Los Osos near Morro Bay. The acquisition of 35 cumulative acres with negotiations underway for an additional 800 acres is a testament to the cooperative partners' ability to identify prime acreage and facilitate funding strategies.

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