Emma Long Park shoreline restoration to inform future wetland planting

In 2017, the city restored a 140-foot-long bulkhead at Emma Long Park. Andrew Clamann with the Watershed Protection Department told the Environmental Commission at its July 17 meeting that he was extremely pleased with the pace, price and results of the project. From excavation to completion, the restoration project took three months in the spring of 2017 and cost a total of $77,500, which was half of what the department budgeted for the restoration. Now, two years later, Clamann said that the department can see the fruits of its labor. The vegetation has taken root and is “extremely rambunctious.” He noted that some public feedback on social media called the new shoreline unkempt, but that is “what natural systems look like,” he said. Admittedly, he said that the project could have been completed with approximately a quarter of the plants that were used, but that the information will be used for future restoration projects. Similarly, he told commissioners that this project was useful to inform future plant palettes for wetland habitats and the care required to help them thrive. Clamann selected 10 species of wetland plants himself, but said 24 different species volunteered in the area. Notably, he emphasized that “all of this transpired in just a couple of weeks.”