ROCHESTER — Part of a $285,000 round of state funding will be used to help protect and restore the historic Stuart Bogs in Rochester. 

The state announced on March 9 that $40,000 of the state grants will go to the Stuart Bogs project, which part of  Division of Ecological Restoration’s Priority Projects Program.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition will work with the division on the protection project, which involves protection of approximately 240 acres, including historic wetlands now part of an active cranberry farm.

Once protected, approximately 60 acres of retired farmland will be restored to historic wetland conditions and integrated within the broader landscape.

Funding from the grant will also go toward the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s plans to acquire the property for permanently protected, public open space. In the years following the protection of the bogs, the coalition plans to restore the wetlands. 

“Ecological restoration projects are an important part of our Administration’s efforts to build a Commonwealth that is resilient to the growing impacts of climate change,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “The local projects supported through this funding will deliver substantial benefits to Massachusetts communities, residents and the wildlife that rely on these natural spaces.”

The Priority Projects Program is one of the ways in which the Division of Ecological Restoration works toward the restoration of wetlands, rivers and other natural areas.