The Braddock Bay restoration project celebrated the completion of phase one of this important Lake Ontario project.
The nearly nine-and-a-half million dollar undertaking is one of the largest ecosystem restoration endeavors anywhere along the Great Lakes. Work on the first phase wrapped up last month and included excavation of channels and potholes within the existing marsh.
Braddock Bay is located on the shore of Lake Ontario in the town of Greece, NY and is part of the Rochester Embayment Great Lakes Area of Concern (AoC). Over the last one hundred years, due to wave driven erosion, there has been a gradual loss of the protective barrier beach, as well as a loss of approximately 106 acres of wetlands.
Also, since Lake Ontario water level regulation began in 1954, decreased fluctuations in water levels have resulted in the growth of a cattail monoculture and the loss of diverse habitat that once existed.
“The fishery will be improved so people who do recreational fishing will notice,” said Paul D’Amato, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. “On the economic side, fishing and hunting are huge economic boots for the state and for this area.”
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See Braddock Bay info & photo credit on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.