Increasing resilience of public access, passive recreation, and habitat on winnapaug pond the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $2,635,000 in federal funding to the…

Increasing resilience of public access, passive recreation, and habitat on winnapaug pond the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $2,635,000 in federal funding to the rhode island coastal resources management council through the FY2023 bipartisan infrastructure law coastal zone management habitat restoration and conservation competition. This project will be fully supported through funding available under the inflation reduction act. This funding will increase climate resilience of coastal communities within coastal counties through habitat restoration planning, engineering and design projects, habitat restoration implementation projects, and land conservation projects. Specifically, the rhode island coastal resources management council will use these funds to preserve a five-acre coastal property containing salt marsh along an ecologically sensitive barrier peninsula in westerly, rhode island. The rhode island coastal resources management council will partner with the rhode island department of environmental management, narragansett BAY national estuarine research reserve, and the town of westerly to protect this coastal wetland and marsh migration pathway and provide opportunities for the public to enjoy and recreate on winnapaug pond.