Funds awarded to support a healthier, more resilient Crab Meadow marsh
$429,000 in funds will be used for habitat restoration and to help combat the deterioration of the Crab Meadow watershed in Northport.
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The future of the Crab Meadow marsh just got a big boost, as the Town of Huntington was awarded a $429,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund to restore and protect the marsh complex, part of the 250-acre Jerome A. Ambro Memorial Wetland Preserve.
The funds will be used for habitat restoration and to help combat the deterioration of the Crab Meadow watershed due to climate change, pollution, and invasive species, said deputy director of the town’s department of maritime services Garrett Chelius, who applied for the grant.
With the help of partners in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Audubon Connecticut and New York, the town has been conducting water monitors on site for the past year, Chelius told the Journal. Initial funding from the grant will be used to hire an environmental contractor to do a comprehensive evaluation of the marsh, including its current condition, and recommend changes to help bring back many of the bird, crab and fish species that are no longer present in the marsh, he added.
“The health of the Crab Meadow watershed is of vital importance to the overall water quality in Huntington's embayments and the Long Island Sound,” Chelius said. “We are extremely pleased and thankful to the Long Island Sound Futures Fund for awarding us this funding to preserve and restore the marsh.”
