What We Learned in RMC’s First Public Webinar on the Abandoned I-95 Embankment

On Tuesday evening, more than fifty people joined Rumney Marsh Conservancy’s first public webinar for a discussion that was, in many ways, about far more than a remnant highway project.

It was about hydrology, restoration, history, governance. And the possibility that one unfinished piece of 1960s infrastructure may still represent one of the most significant salt marsh restoration opportunities in Massachusetts.

We were honored to be joined by retired EPA wetland scientist Ed Reiner, whose work has shaped public understanding of Rumney Marsh for decades. Drawing from nearly five decades of research and the EPA’s 2022 study of the abandoned Interstate 95 embankment, Ed guided attendees through the history and ecological consequences of a structure that continues to shape tidal flow across the marsh today.

At one point in the presentation, Ed described the embankment as “the largest and best opportunity for salt marsh restoration in the whole of Massachusetts involving fill removal.” It was one of several lines that seemed to crystallize the scale of what was being discussed.

Hydrology as the Story

A recurring theme of the evening was simple but profound: hydrology defines the outcome.

The webinar explored how the partially constructed I-95 embankment altered drainage patterns, constrained tidal exchange, contributed to scour, and helped create conditions favorable to invasive species. But the discussion also challenged longstanding assumptions.

One of the more significant takeaways was the role of Route 107 in regulating tidal flow, and how Ed’s research reframes the flood protection rationale often associated with retaining the embankment. The implications of that shift are substantial, not just for understanding the system, but for thinking about restoration. As Ed put it:

“The water was never meant in a salt marsh to be confined to just the opening of a river or a creek. It was designed to flow over the whole marsh surface.”

That line seemed to capture the evening’s larger argument.

A Landscape of Hidden Engineering

One striking aspect of the webinar was how often Rumney Marsh was revealed not simply as a natural landscape, but as an engineered one.

Historical aerial imagery showed the layered accumulation of interventions: filled wetlands, relocated channels, restrictive crossings, altered drainage, mitigation excavations, and legacy infrastructure still shaping ecological outcomes.

Even some of Ed’s lighter moments carried weight. One audience favorite came while discussing mitigation geometry:

“Nature does not create rectangles!”

It drew a laugh, but it also made a serious point. The marsh bears the imprint of decades of human design. Restoration, in many cases, means understanding and unwinding those legacies.

A Conversation, Not Just a Presentation

What stood out most to us was the audience.

The questions were thoughtful, substantive, and often ambitious. Attendees asked about scour holes and bathymetry, native vegetation, permitting barriers, citizen science, flood assumptions, and what it would take to move from data toward implementation.

Public programs work best when they become dialogue, and this felt very much like one.

One particularly memorable moment came during discussion of whether more study is needed before action. Ed responded with characteristic candor:

“I’m tired of collecting data that reveals the obvious.”

It was classic Ed, but it also captured a tension familiar in restoration work: when does knowledge become enough to act?

Restoration as Opportunity

The evening was not framed around loss alone. It was also about possibility.

Beneficial reuse of embankment fill. Reconnected flow paths. Improved nursery habitat. Reduced erosion. Greater coastal resilience.

Again and again, the conversation returned to the idea that restoration is not simply repair. It is opportunity.

And perhaps that is part of why this topic continues to resonate.

The abandoned embankment is often treated as relic or backdrop. The webinar made a compelling case for seeing it instead as a system-level restoration question.

Gratitude and What Comes Next

We are deeply grateful to Ed Reiner for sharing his time and decades of insight, and to everyone who joined us for helping make this first webinar such a thoughtful exchange.

Programs like this are part of a larger goal for Rumney Marsh Conservancy: building appreciation, understanding, and dialogue around this remarkable estuary and its future. Tuesday’s conversation only reinforced the appetite for more.

Future programs may explore marsh hydrology, tidal restrictions, wildlife and habitat, and the history of restoration efforts across Rumney Marsh.

For now, we’ll leave readers with another Ed line that lingered after the webinar ended:

“Let’s do what makes sense.”

Hard to improve on that.