State Funds Protecting And Restoring Habitat

Governor Jodi Rell announced today more than $4.4 million in grants to pay for projects to restore ecosystems and protect open space. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

Nearly $600,000 of the grants came from the Preserve the Sound license plate fund. Residents purchase these special license plates to support the protection of Long Island Sound. The rest of the money came from settlements between the Department of Environmental Protection and companies who have violated environmental laws, including $2 million from a 2004 agreement with a subsidiary of Tyco International.

D.E.P. Commissioner Amey Marella says the habitat grants include 17 projects across the state.

“A lot of them actually are projects that allow fish to pass up stream whether it’s removing a dam or allowing fish passage to be constructed so the fish can navigate around the dam. And finally there are significant projects to address the invasive species ‘Fragmites’.

The funding went to both non-profits and municipalities including the city of Norwalk, the town of Manchester, the Winchester Land Trust, and the Nature Conservancy.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.