A $15,000 state grant will go to the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation to replace two undersized culverts on the brook in Chilmark and improve water flow for sensitive fish species in the coldwater stream.The grant was announced early this week by Gov. Charlie Baker as part of $720,000 that will go toward river and wetland restoration projects in the commonwealth.

The culvert replacement funding comes amid ongoing efforts to protect the watershed, which spans almost 3,000 acres in Chilmark and West Tisbury and feeds into the Tisbury Great Pond. The town of West Tisbury recently completed a comprehensive watershed study.

The years-long study found that high water temperatures, water diversion and inflated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus all threaten the vast Mill Brook river system and some of its most vulnerable species.

The detailed report includes recommendations for environmental protections along the streams and ponds that comprise the river system. Town leaders plan to use the report as the basis for a watershed management plan.

The stream system, which includes the two tributaries Witch Brook and Indian Hill Brook, is designated as a cold water fish resource (CFR) by the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife. Fish species that have historically lived in the stream, like the Eastern Brook trout and the American Brook lamprey, need cooler water to survive.