What’s in store for MA, RI after 2003 Bouchard Barge 120 oil spill?

Tonight our New England staff are meeting with southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities around Buzzards Bay to share our proposal to use $4.8 million in oil spill settlement funds to fund projects restoring public access and recreational use of natural resources and restoring some shoreline and aquatic areas.

“I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to work with our partners and the public to improve the quality of Buzzards Bay and surrounding natural areas,” said Tom Chapman, the head of our New England Field Office.

Bouchard oil spill settlement funds of nearly $1 million would provide the critical remaining money necessary for the Buzzards Bay Coalition and multiple land conservation partners to protect nearly 450 acres of coastal habitat in Fairhaven and Mattapoisett, Mass. Credit: Buzzards Bay Coalition.

Here’s an aerial view of Round Hill Marsh in Dartmouth, Mass. The central portion was filled nearly 100 years ago. Under the proposal, fill would be excavated from the historic salt marsh and tidal flow would be re-connected to restore up to 12 acres of salt marsh. The opportunity to reclaim this valuable coastal ecosystem is only possible because of a partnership and cost-sharing effort utilizing Bouchard oil spill settlement funds, New Bedford Harbor NRDAR settlement money, and a grant from the DOI Hurricane Sandy Resiliency effort. Credit: Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.

Check out the below post from another one of the natural resources trustees in the proposal, our partner NOAA.

PCBs: Why are banned chemicals still hurting the environment today?

PCBs released from General Electric facilities on the Upper Hudson River present a serious and long-term threat to the health of the entire Hudson River ecosystem. Living resources at every level of the Hudson River’s aquatic, terrestrial, and wetland-based food chains are contaminated with PCBs. The Service, NOAA, and NYDEC are measuring the harm caused by this contamination.

Wednesday Wisdom – Pete Seeger

Original photo by Kent Mason

Like many folk singers of his day, Pete Seeger was also an activist. One of his passions was the Hudson River. He sang about his dream for this river, telling us “Still I love it and I’ll keep the dream. That some day, though maybe not this year, my Hudson River will once again run clear.”

In 1969, he launched the sloop Clearwater on the Hudson, using it as a tool to raise awareness and conduct science-based environmental education. According to Clearwater.org, more than half a million people experienced their first real look at the estuary’s ecosystem aboard the vessel.

We join Clearwater in mourning Pete Seeger, as we seek to protect and restore the Hudson River – a cause that Pete was so passionate about. The Hudson River is extensively contaminated with chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. We know that PCBs can cause serious harm to wildlife and other natural resources. The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees are currently measuring the injuries caused by this contamination so we can restore the natural resources of the Hudson River.

The Hudson River Trustees are comprised of U.S. Department of Commerce (through NOAA), U.S. Department of the Interior (through FWS), and State of New York (through NY DEC).

You can find more information about the Hudson River contamination in past blog posts when we celebrated National Rivers Month and studied the effects of PCBs on mink populations.