Connecticut restored 34 acres of damaged salt marsh in 2022; two years later, native grasses were thriving, and shorebirds were nesting on newly built mounds

Restoring a damaged coastal ecosystem rarely happens without risk. At Great Meadows Marsh in Connecticut, biologists worried that heavy machinery and large-scale construction could threaten a rare bird and an uncommon wildflower rather than help them. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, those same tools ultimately helped bring the marsh back to life.

Biologists had initially worried about this exact risk at Great Meadows Marsh, that the project could harm the saltmarsh sparrow, a declining bird species, and the marsh pink, a native wildflower. Even so, partners worked together to rehabilitate 34 acres at the site in 2022. After two years, initial signs showed positive outcomes.

A marsh with a bumpy past


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains that Great Meadows Marsh had many issues. In colonial times, farmers created drainage ditches to increase salt marsh hay. This meant most of the marsh was lost. Dredging, invasive plants, and rising sea levels meant that some areas weren’t functioning correctly. The plan took three years to create and cost $4.65 million to complete.

Of that total, almost $1 million came from settlements tied to contamination at three nearby sites. From fall 2021 to summer 2022, teams removed invasive plants and excess soil, then recreated the landscape. They also carved new channels to let seawater flow in and out. Rather than raising the marsh’s overall elevation, workers built hummocks, or mounds, planted with salt meadow cordgrass, soft rushes, and spike grass.

The birds responded positively

Saltmarsh sparrows had been declining by about 9% a year. According to Correll et al., in their 2016 paper “Predictors of specialist avifaunal decline in coastal marshes,” published in Conservation Biology, the global population was on track to collapse within 50 years. Even so, sparrows returned to the marsh the following spring, foraging for insects and spiders on the new mounds. Their nesting success, however, stayed largely unchanged, since the vegetation on the hummocks wasn’t yet dense enough to support nests. Willets and clapper rails, the shorebirds that did find the new mounds suitable, nested there instead, delivering on part of the project’s early promise.

The plant that likes a little chaos

Although the seedlings planted in spring 2022 didn’t survive, new marsh pink plants grew from seeds already present in the soil. Officials at the agency note that marsh pink thrives on disturbance, the digging and reed-pulling likely stirred long-dormant seeds to the surface.

Not just a win for wildlife

A new trail and two viewing platforms now attract hikers and birdwatchers. Since the restoration, the refuge manager says she has never visited without spotting a birder. More than 150 volunteers, including a dozen paid high school students, helped plant native species. Employees at the Amazon warehouse across the road enjoy looking out their windows during lunch breaks. Standing water, once a mosquito breeding ground, has also become less common. Coastal flooding brought by Hurricane Sandy along the New Jersey shoreline.

There could also be a financial benefit. According to Narayan et al., in their 2017 peer-reviewed study titled “The Value of Coastal Wetlands for Flood Damage Reduction in the Northeastern USA,” published in the journal Scientific Reports, wetlands saved over $625 million in direct flood damages across 12 states during Hurricane Sandy. This is around 1% of the flood damages caused by the hurricane. Salt marshes reduced annual flood losses by around 16% on average in Ocean County, New Jersey.

The fine print

The agency is candid that this remains a work in progress. Funding is already set aside for ongoing monitoring and adjustments, and officials expect the invasive common reed to return eventually. “You can’t restore and just leave,” one biologist said. They hope that as the new vegetation matures, saltmarsh sparrows will eventually move in to nest.