The maryland coastal bays salt marsh team, consisting of resource agencies and ngos, seeks to restore degraded salt marshes in the maryland coastal bays

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its National Fish Habitat Partnership (CFDA 15.686) program, awarded a $100,000 Cooperative Agreement to Delmarva R C & D Inc., a non-profit conservation organization, to restore degraded salt marshes in the Maryland Coastal Bays. The project aims to improve fish habitat, water quality, and coastal resiliency by reversing human impacts on at least 114 acres of salt marsh. Key restoration techniques include sediment addition to nourish degraded marsh areas, filling man-made ditches, creating meandering drainage channels, and planting marsh grasses to revegetate degraded pools. The project will also incorporate an outreach component, working with local schools to grow Spartina grasses for the restoration efforts. This first-of-its-kind salt marsh restoration project in the Coastal Bays is intended to serve as a template for future conservation opportunities in the region.

This project aims to improve fish habitat, water quality, and coastal resiliency by reversing human impacts and restoring salt marsh processes on at least 114 acres. The 90% designs include four restoration techniques: sediment addition to nourish degraded marsh from grid-ditching, filling man-made ditches, creating meandering channels for drainage, and planting marsh grasses to revegetate pools. Methods include, nourishment of selected low elevation ponded areas with sediment from adjacent farm fields to increase elevation, filling select human-made ditches, construction of runnels or natural meandering channels to drain water from megapools, increase tidal exchange, and facilitate vegetative recovery, and plantings of marsh grass to speed recovery of vegetation. This project will also include an outreach program with local schools to grow spartina in classrooms for the marsh restoration work. This first-of-its-kind marsh restoration in the coastal bays would serve as a template for future opportunities.