On Sept. 21, 2007, salt water from Mount Hope Bay flowed into an historic coastal pond at the north end of Aquidneck Island for the first time in 53 years. The restoration is the culmination of more than seven years of planning, engineering and construction, achieved through a partnership of federal, state, local and non-governmental organizations. The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program played an active role throughout the restoration process: working with the community to build support for the project, convening technical experts to design the restoration, and working with governmental and non-governmental organizations to secure nearly six million dollars for construction of the largest wetland restoration project ever undertaken on Narragansett Bay.

During the 1940's and 50's, it was not uncommon for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to use coastal wetlands as disposal sites for dredged material. One such wetland was Town Pond, in Portsmouth, R.I., at the north end of Aquidneck Island. Until about 1950, Town Pond was a 40-acre tidal pond with salt marshes along its edges, connected to the salt waters of Mount Hope Bay by a large tidal channel. During dredging operations for the Fall River, Mass., shipping channel, the pond was filled with mud dredged from the bottom of the Bay. The fill operation halted tidal exchange to the interior of the marsh by raising the area above high tide, and over the next several decades, the former pond evolved from a mudflat to a 40-acre monoculture of the invasive reed Phragmites.

In the late 1990's, the late Senator John Chafee, at the request of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, authorized the R.I. Ecosystem Restoration Study: an effort undertaken by the Corps, NBEP and other partners to identify coastal restoration opportunities throughout Rhode Island's coastal areas. One such opportunity identified was Town Pond. Under Section 1135 of the federal Water Resources Development Act, the Corps is funded to restore coastal sites damaged by past navigational projects. The federal government provides 75 percent of the cost of these projects; local partners must pay the remainder.

The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, R.I. Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and the Corps worked with federal, state and local partners through the R.I. Habitat Restoration Team to develop a restoration plan for Town Pond. The project restores more than 20 acres of historic salt pond habitat as well as fringing wetlands, coastal grassland habitat, and public access to the shoreline. In so doing, it is intended to restore spawning habitat for winter flounder as well as critical habitat for a variety of valuable estuarine plants and animals, including oysters, blue crabs, menhaden and waterfowl such as brant, thereby improving the estuarine environment of Mount Hope Bay and, indeed, all of Narragansett Bay. The project will also protect nearby freshwater resources, allow continued maintenance access to existing electric transmission lines, and provide for public access and viewing of the restored habitat. The Town of Portsmouth is strongly supportive of the project and has been a consistent partner.

Most of the non-federal funding for the project was provided through state sources: funds from RIDEM as well as the R.I. Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund, administered by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council. Additional funding was provided by the R.I. Corporate Wetlands Partnership, Ducks Unlimited and Aquidneck Island Land Trust. Roger Williams University provided significant in-kind contribution through real estate easements.

Town Pond-Restoration Update
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