Jobs and Better Habitat From River Restoration

A $3 million river restoration project at Hunt’s Mills Dam on the Ten Mile River in East Providence, R.I., will bring much needed jobs and greatly improved habitat to the area.

The money comes from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and will be used to restore "a migratory fish passage that will eventually accommodate 400,000 herring and shad along both the Ten Mile and Pawcatuck rivers," according to an article on the Web site for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The Rhode Island River Ecosystem Restoration project creates good local jobs removing dams and building the ladders that will restore important fish habitat and rebuild their populations,” said Jane Lubchenko, of NOAA. “This project is part of a major effort along the East Coast by federal, state, and local partners to bring back blueback herring, alewives, and American shad, which have been so important, both economically and ecologically, to coastal communities in the Northeast since Colonial times. Not only do they support local fisheries, but they are very important as prey for other fish, birds, and other animals. Their annual migrations are welcome signs of spring.”

Other work will "remove two dams and build a fish ladder along the Pawcatuck River in the southern part of the state."

More jobs, fewer dams. That works.

The project, according to the release, "is one of 50 high quality, high priority projects funded by the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act to restore the nation’s coastal habitat and jumpstart the nation’s economy."

It's nice to see some economic stimulus money going to something other than bailouts of teetering financial institutions.

Photo courtesy of NOAA