University of Wisconsin-Green Bay researchers have received a federal grant to help restore native plants in Green Bay waters as part of an ongoing project to rebuild a chain of islands that disappeared almost 40 years ago.

The Cat Islands were submerged in the 1970s. As they’re being rebuilt, the federal government has given a $225,000 grant to UW-Green Bay to ensure that native plants can come back as well.

The plants that will be focused on include bulrush, water celery and wild rice. Once they’re restored, the hope is fish like bluegills and large-mouth bass will spawn there. Birds like the endangered piping plover, the yellow-headed blackbird, and ducks may come back too.

Biology professor Matt Dornbush is helping to lead the project.

“This is an amazingly unique project on a global scale,” said Dornbush. “This type of stuff really hasn't been done. So what we're hoping to do is really try to develop restoration strategies. How do you actually restore these marsh communities to an area this big?”

The project will encompass 1,400 acres, and will take three years.