Schoppee Marsh restoration project
Healthy functioning salt marshes enhance coastal resilience by providing important storm and coastal flooding protection , while also providing the additional benefits of habitat and forage areas for a variety of fish, birds and other wildlife; bank stabilization and erosion control; water quality improvement.
Properties lined with salt marshes experience 16 percent lower annual flood losses from storms than ones that have lost their fronting marshes
The railroad bed essentially functions as a dike, which indirectly affects sediment dynamics and geomorphology in the Machias River as a consequence of tidal prism loss that results from dikes directly excluding tidal inundation in the landward area 2
Atlantic salmon parr stocked in the East Machias river will benefit from increased survival rates due to prey cover provided by an increase in predation on other diadromous fish attracted to the forage provided by the restored spartina marsh.
We propose to conduct a feasibility and design project to determine the best alternative for replacing the undersized (36” diameter) cast in place (CIP) culvert, which maintains the right of way (ROW) and capacity to meet railroad loading, Cooper E-80 and alternative load on 4-axles (286k car) 3
The rail bed installation dates around 1916 and Reeves estimates that the 36” CIP culvert was installed at the same time.
The bridge further to the east and off the Schoppee Marsh property being obtained by Downeast Coastal Conservancy (DCC) had “deck/timber work” done ~15 or 20 years ago. A sub structure or super structure may have been re-used. 3
Responsibility for maintenance of the trail is unclear. Brian Reeves will find out whether or not it is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Conservation or the Maine Department of Transportation. 3
It is not clear who would need to grant us permission to conduct our project. Brian Reeves suspects that it is his position but needs to get confirmation and will respond before March 7, 2018. 3
If the state were to participate in this project it is not realistic for the state to provide any funding because they are tasked with maintaining the structural function not fish passage or tidal flow. If the structure is degraded this may change. 3