Ipswich River staff recently led state legislators on a tour around the watershed to visit some of our highest priority restoration sites which could benefit from the flood of federal and State funding that will become available in the next 12-18 months. Due to a combination of left over federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and surplus State funding, nearly $5 Billion will be made available to municipalities and their non-profit partners to invest in shovel ready infrastructure projects. Thankfully for the River, there is an emphasis on “green” and resiliency-enhancing projects which aligns perfectly with many of our priorities. The tour, which was led by newly elected Representative Jamie Belsito (pictured above), included Representative Sean Garballey, who is Chair of the all-important Global Warming and Climate Change Committee, as well as legislative staff from around the Watershed.
The photo above was taken at the Old Essex Road causeway crossing of the Castle Neck River in the Great Marsh at the Ipswich/Essex Town line is one of our many culvert removal and stream/marsh restoration sites. Restoration Program Director Neil Shea (pictured above) has been working with our restoration partners from around the region to prepare a list of 30 on the ground “shovel ready” projects, totaling $15 million that are ready to be implemented should funding become available. Says Neil, “Being able to move forward on several of our highest priority projects in the near future is exciting and would dramatically increase the resiliency of our Watershed.” In addition to the Castle Neck River, the list includes high profile projects such as the South Middleton and Ipswich Mills dam removals and some of our highest priority road stream crossing sites throughout the watershed including in Boxford, Topsfield and Rowley. Successfully matching these project sites with this available funding would be a game changer for our region.