Hoyer Celebrates Completion of Recovery Act Job-Creating Project at Piscataway Park

ACCOKEEK, MD – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) joined National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Wes Matheu, Shoreline Design, Inc, and other local officials to celebrate the restoration of 2,800 feet of Potomac River shoreline in Piscataway Park.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided this vital funding to save not only an important part of the areas's ecosystem, but also preserve local jobs, businesses and educational programs.

"I am pleased to celebrate the completion of the Living Shoreline Project here at Piscataway Park and want to thank the Alice Ferguson Foundation, the Park Service, NOAA, area residents and interested groups for their hard work and coordination on this project," stated Congressman Hoyer. "The Living Shoreline Project is a true economic success story of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, directly impacting and sustaining 20 jobs here in Maryland and indirectly impacting many more through the local purchase of materials, goods, and services. And to those of us who know and appreciate the environmental, historical, and cultural significance of this park and the Potomac River, the legacy of the Living Shoreline Project will be felt long after our economy rebounds."

The Piscataway Restoration required that NOAA and partners hire people to create 2,800 feet of "living shoreline" along the banks of the Potomac River, putting a stop to a growing erosion problem, the degradation of migratory fish habitat, and preventing the further decay of a National Park Service Native American archeological site.  The Piscataway restoration also creates two acres of spawning and nursery habitat for more than a dozen fish species, improves water quality, and provides protection for more than 30 acres of freshwater wetland.

"Throughout the year, thousands of students come to AFF's Hard Bargain Farm to participate in environmental education activities," said Tracy Bowen, Executive Director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation. "Nearly all of them visit Piscataway Park along the shoreline and across the wetlands. This restoration project allows them to continue to have access to the Bay for canoeing and other activities."

A living shoreline restoration enhances vegetated shoreline habitat through the careful placement of plants, stone, sand fill and other structural or organic materials. Living shoreline treatments do not include structures that sever the natural processes and connections between upland and aquatic areas. The main reason for using a living shoreline technique is to restore damage caused by erosion.

In March 2009, Congressman Hoyer wrote a letter to NOAA urging the agency's full and appropriate consideration of the Alice Ferguson Founation's Recovery Act grant application for this Living Shoreline Project.