Greenbrier Village - Wetland Enhancement
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| Wetland Enhancement |
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| Wetland Enhancement |
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Caputo and Wick Ltd. designed and permitted a large residential community on a 76.1-acre tract of land in Seekonk, MA. As a result of excavation associated with a former gravel-removal land use, much of the parcel had developed into regulated wetlands (due to the excavation of former uplands down to elevations located within the zone of seasonal groundwater fluctuation). The affected areas were unusable as part of the residential development due to their regulated wetland status, and they had been abandoned as highly-disturbed, marginal-quality wetlands interspersed with remnant stockpiles and debris. Although not required from a regulatory standpoint, the Client sought to enhance one of the severely-altered areas to create a higher-value wetland exhibiting more-permanent and varied water regimes. The enhancement required extensive regulatory coordination, and permitting occurred with the US Army of Corps of Engineers, MassDEP, and the Town of Seekonk Conservation Commission. The successful wetland enhancement area comprises 3.1 acres and was created with temporarily-flooded fringes, shallow marsh, deep marsh, various open-water depths, and an island. Fringes and shorelines were seeded with native seed mixes, native shrubs were planted along the perimeter commensurate with saturation and shading conditions, and dead, woody debris was added along the shoreline. Extensive field inventories, soils observation, and groundwater monitoring occurred prior to project design. Particular care was taken to gently transition the enhancement area into surrounding wetland cover types, while avoiding alteration of mature forested wetlands and adjacent ponds and vernal pools. The images above and below were taken three years after construction completion.
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| Wetland Enhancement |
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| Wetland Enhancement |
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