By Bill Forry

The coming-out party for the once-forgotten Neponset River continued full steam this week as a public-private partnership announced the launch of an ambitious marshland restoration project that will begin in earnest later this year. Advocates say that the half-million dollar initiative will transform the scenic estuary that graces the riverfront along Dorchester and Milton- and help birds and other wildlife regain a strong foothold in the sanctuary.

In a tour of the estuary near Ventura Park on Tuesday, state officials and corporate donors hailed the restoration as yet another chapter in the river's resurgence.

The $550,000 project -funded mainly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Gillette Corporation- will "breathe new life" into the Neponset marshes, according to Susan Redlich, director of the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership.

Redlich says that restoration work will include the excavation and relocation of 46,400 cubic yards of landfill, much of it earth and debris that was dumped on the fragile site during the construction of the Southeast Expressway in the 1950s. By removing earthen obstacles and channeling river water into the thirsty marsh itself, planners are counting on renewed growth of the natural marsh grass that has largely been choked by the tall reeds that most of us see from a distance. The corn-stalk-like Phragmites, which is actually an invasive plant that has grown on the landfill, is detrimental to the bird and fish life that once thrived along the marsh, Redlich said.

"It doesn't allow for the diversity of life that the marsh can support," says Redlich. "It dries it out and elevates as it keeps dying out every year. Instead, we will be planting the salt marsh cordgrass. You'll be able to see the extent of the marsh much more and people will see the real expanse of the marsh."

The timing could not be better, according to environmental activists. A long-awaited bike and walking trail along the river, set to open later this spring, will pass within yards of the marsh itself, giving passersby a close-up view of the 20 acre site that will be the focus of the restoration project.

"When the trail opens later this spring, you will be right on the edge of marsh that is being restored," says Redlich. "It's a great opportunity for people to be educated and especially to see more bird life as life is breathed into the area."

Resuscitating the natural habitat of more than 200 birds and mammals will be a major accomplishment, after years of neglect and outright abuse of the Neponset River and its estuary. Since the first European settlement of Dorchester in the 1630s, the salt marsh fed by the tides of the nearby Neponset has been steadily destroyed at man's hand. From narrow irrigation ditches dug by early residents to the wide scar of Interstate-93, one "improvement" project after another has devastated this otherwise tranquil place.

Public works projects- most notably the construction of the southeast expressway- used the marsh as a dumping ground for soil. Several feet of landfill was piled across much of the marsh, creating berms several feet high that squeezed the native salt marsh into oblivion by shutting off large sections to the life-sustaining salt water from the river.

Rich Kleiman, an MDC naturalist and specialist on the river, toured the site with the Reporter in 2000.

"What happened in 1940s and '50s and, we believe, even into the '60s is that the channel was dredged up the Neponset River and, during the construction of the expressway, material was taken into this marsh," says Kleiman. "It basically oozed out over the healthy salt marsh, burying it in fill material. Since then, it's been taken over by these tall reeds which are essentially an invasive weed."

The long-term beneficiaries of the upcoming restoration will likely be the many species of fish, birds, and other animals which have traditionally thrived in the area.The Neponset estuary is used by over 200 bird species, including the bald eagle and snowy owl, and supports some of the most significant rainbow smelt spawning habitat in the region, Kleiman says. The creeks that drain into the salt marsh are fertile nurseries for several fish species, including stripers and blue fish.

"The minnows eat mosquitoes," says Kleiman. "Part of the idea for the restoration is to create more habitat for the fish to come in. It's a natural form of mosquito control. It's very successful."

The Neponset restoration is the latest project to move forward under the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (CWRP), founded in 1999 by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, The Gillette Company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"The partnership is designed to make smart use of state and private money by leveraging already available federal resources," said Bob Durand, Secretary of Environmental Affairs. "While federal funding for wetlands restoration has increased, a large portion has gone unused because local project sponsors have been unable to raise the required non-federal share of project costs. This partnership fills that void. Particularly in times of disappearing state revenues, programs like CWRP play an important role."