The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has been awarded $804,000 in federal funding for a program to restore sensitive tidal wetlands in the state.
The funding from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wetland Reserve Program will be used by the DEP to restore 726 acres of tidal wetlands degraded by invasive exotic plants at three Wildlife Management Areas along the lower Connecticut River and at two state parks on Connecticut’s coast.
“Connecticut has been awarded one of the highest levels of funding in the nation for this program,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in a statement. “The DEP will now be able to perform much needed wetland restoration at key locations in Connecticut. These dollars will go a long way toward restoring tidal marshes that have been degraded by this invasive plant species. In addition to direct ecological benefits, tidal marshes are a critical buffer from severe storms and it is important to protect them.”
