The waters off Gallops Island were identified as the ideal location for a proposed reef that would be built out of rock material dredged from Boston Harbor during a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers harbor deepening project slated for 2018, the Nature Conservancy just announced.
Along with Northeastern University, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the City of Boston, the Nature Conservancy has helped identify this location.
The Gallops Island area was chosen specifically for its value in protecting vulnerable shorelines by dissipating wave energy and for its high potential for improving biodiversity and potentially fostering robust eelgrass beds behind the reef.
“If we can get this reef demonstration built, it could serve as a model nature-based solution for other cities facing the challenges of a fraying coastline and more frequent floodwater inundation,” said Jon Kachmar, the Conservancy’s interim urban director for Massachusetts.
Up to 400,000 cubic yards of rock, about eight times the amount of concrete used to build the Empire State Building, would be used to make the reef, the Nature Conservancy said in its release.
[mappress mapid=”23625″]