Grassi Bog Restoration

Information on the Town of Marion Grassi Bog Restoration

In September 2009, the Buzzards Bay NEP awarded the Town of Marion $7,500 to prepare the required permits for the restoration of an abandoned cranberry bog owned by the town, known as the Grassi bog. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has provided $100,000 in funding to the town to restore the site into a more natural wetland system. Restoration activities include rerouting the river from an existing bypass channel to a new channel that will flow through the bog, construction of an emergency spillway to protect the dike that creates the existing 8-acre pond, creation of new spotted turtle habitat, elimination of fish passage impediments, and removal berms. NRCS, in consultation with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, designed the restoration project. The town will use the awarded Buzzard Bay grant funds to prepare all the necessary environmental permits for the project.

Grassi Bog site plan.

Grassi Bog site plan. Click image for larger view. Numbers refer to figures below.

 

Grassi Bog 1.

Photo 1. General view of bog 1. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 2.

Photo 2. Side ditch in Bog 1. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 3.

Photo 3. Main ditch Bog 1. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 4.

Photo 4. Main ditch Bog 2. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 5.

Photo 5. Dike between Bogs 1 & 2. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 6.

Photo 6. Vegetation Bog 2. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 7.

Photo 7. Main ditch at east end of Bog 2. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 8.

Photo 8. Pond. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 9.

Photo 9. Main ditch east end of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 10.

Photo 10. Main ditch east end of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 11.

Photo 11. General view of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 12.

Photo 12. General view of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 13.

Photo 13. View of Pond. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 14.

Photo 14. View of Pond. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 15.

Photo 15. View of Pond. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 16.

Photo 16. Constructed bypass at pond. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 17.

Photo 17. Constructed bypass (looking upstream). Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 18.

Photo 18. Constructed bypass (looking upstream). Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 19.

Photo 19. Main ditch south end of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 20.

Photo 20. General view of Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 21.

Photo 21. Main ditch outlet to bypass. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 23.

Photo 22. Control structure in main ditch to bypass. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 22.

Photo 23. Main ditch at Bog 4. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 24.

Photo 24. General view of Bog 4. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 25.

Photo 25. Dike between Bogs 3 & 4. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 26.

Photo 26. General view Bog 3. Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 27.

Photo 27. Main ditch at Bog 4 (looking north). Click image for larger view.

Grassi Bog 28.

Photo 28. Main ditch at Bog 4 (looking south). Click image for larger view.