Streambank Restoration Project at Bassetts Bridge and at Route 565 on the Wallkill River
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and specifically the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (WRNWR), in partnership with the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority (SCMUA) / Wallkill River Watershed Management Group (WRWMG), successfully completed a "Streambank Restoration Project at Bassetts Bridge and at Route 565 on the Wallkill River". with funding from a 319(h) Non-Point Source Pollution Control Grant awarded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
The project was designed to "address existing physical, biological, and chemical impairments on the Wallkill River by developing and implementing a streambank restoration and stabilization project at two locations within the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge.
MAJOR PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Stabilized and restored approximately 100 feet of streambank along the Wallkill River at Bassetts Bridge
- Stabilized and restored approximately 150 feet of streambank along the Wallkill River at Route 565
- Planted a riparian strip of trees and shrubs (approximately 120' wide by 400' long) adjacent to the Bassetts Bridge project site and parallel to the Wallkill River
- Installed a boardwalk (approximately 500' long x 6' wide) to provide a stabilized walkway from the Refuge parking lot at Bassetts Bridge to the Wallkill River Canoe and Access fishing location.
- Installed streambank armoring and stabilization practices at both project locations to help reduce future amounts of sediment loss and loading to the Wallkill River
- Rehabilitated the public canoe and fishing access area at both Route 565 and Bassetts Bridge
- Increased public awareness of streambank restoration and stabilization techniques through the promotion of the project as a demonstration site.
- Strengthened the existing partnership between the WRNWR, the SCMUA, and the WRWMG
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