The Enviornmental Protection Agency joined Senator Reed and other state and local dignitaries in formally launching the Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program on October 14.
The new program will serve as a framework to promote a broad ecosystem approach to protecting and restoring the coastal watersheds of southeast New England. The program, consisting of government and non-government organizations, is currently working collaboratively and innovatively to maintain and improve water quality and habitat conditions within these coastal watersheds.
In collaboration with a diverse array of stakeholders, the program will focus on developing and promoting innovations in restoration and protection practices, development of new, more efficient technologies, and application of new policies to these new approaches. A critical element of this program will be to prepare for climate change impacts and highlight the need to build resilience into all decision-making. Partners include key federal and state resource agencies, local organizations, and the two local National Estuary Programs in Narragansett Bay R.I. and Buzzards Bay Mass.
Senator Reed is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior & Environment, who spearheaded the effort to make $2 million in federal funding available for this program.
