Recovering from Sandy: Road repairs begin at Rhode Island refuge

Construction work has begun at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island, to repair road damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The only public road to the refuge was made impassable after the storm closed the refuge in October. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is rebuilding about 1,500 feet of Sachuest Point Road and providing armor stone to protect the road from further erosion during storm surges with high surf. The Service and the Federal Highway Administration are funding the repairs, which are expected to be completed in May.

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Sandy Emergency Supplemental To Fund Repairs at Refuges, Hatcheries

In the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental funding bill signed this week by President Obama, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will receive $68.2 million to make repairs to 25 national wildlife refuges and 3 national fish hatcheries from Florida to Maine. The funds will be invested to restore facilities to their pre-Sandy condition. Projects will include debris field clean-up, rebuilding roads, trails, and other public access facilities, and restoring important ecosystems that benefit communities as well as wildlife. In many areas, the Service will restore facilities to be more resilient and withstand future storms and rising sea levels. The Service will now develop project implementation plans and timelines.

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Senator visits Rhode Island refuge after Sandy

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe joined Senator Jack Reed at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island to view damage sustained from Hurricane Sandy. Sandy washed out the only public road to the refuge, which is the only national wildlife refuge that remains closed from the storm. The Service is working with the Federal Highway Administration and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to repair the road and reopen the refuge as soon as possible. Nearly 200,000 people visit the refuge each year to hike, fish, and birdwatch. The refuge is a best known for wintering sea ducks, including the second largest winter population of eastern harlequin ducks on the Atlantic coast.

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Recovering from Sandy: Boat Salvage Begins at E.B. Forsythe Refuge

Hurricane Sandy left behind a 22-mile long debris field in the marshes at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge near Atlantic City, N.J. The powerful storm surge left behind more than 100 boats carrying thousands of gallons of fuel, oil and propane tanks, roofs, lumber and many other potentially hazardous materials. Some boats have been retrieved; however, others remain stranded in hard to reach areas. A team of 20 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specialists is on site evaluating the level of contamination on the refuge.

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E.B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge website

Responding to Superstorm Sandy in West Virginia

A number of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees were deployed to snowbound West Virginia as members of an interagency team directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help clear roads blocked by fallen trees and to work at National Guard airports in Martinsburg and Charleston, W.Va., where tractor trailers brought food, water and generators for storm victims.

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