WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative James Langevin (D-RI) today announced that the U.S. Army Corps would direct $190,000 to complete a feasibility study for Brush Neck Cove in Warwick.Brush Neck Cove and the nearby Buttonwoods Cove were once home to prime shellfish habitat including finfish and shellfish nursery grounds. In recent years, sediment has accumulated in the coves forming a tidal delta at the inlet, and reducing abundance and diversity of plant and animal species, water quality, and navigation opportunities."Brush Neck Cove is an important natural resource for our state. I am pleased to have worked with Congressman Langevin to secure federal funding to restore and preserve this vital habitat along Greenwich Bay," said Reed. "I hope this project will help return Brush Neck Cove to an abundant fishery and a vital navigation route for boaters.""It is imperative to support projects like this that revitalize our natural resources for fish and wildlife to thrive and for people to enjoy," said Langevin. "I thank Senator Reed for collaborating with me on this project. We both recognize how valuable it is to restore the integrity of our waterways."As directed by the Army Corps' operating plan for 2007, federal funding will be used to develop a feasibility study to consider alternative solutions to restore the ecological connection between Greenwich Bay and Brush Neck and Buttonwoods Coves. The study will investigate the extent of the existing degradation of water quality, finfish, shellfish, and benthic habitat within the coves to determine if improving the connection to Greenwich Bay would restore the quality of the habitat. Funding for the Corps' plan is provided through the continuing resolution that Congress passed last month, which Reed and Langevin supported.Since 2004, Reed and Langevin have secured $250,000 for this project.-end-