Abstract
Massachusetts has lost an estimated 41 percent of its precolonial salt marshes (Bromberg and Bertness 2005), and much of the remaining salt marsh is affected by a variety of stressors, including restricted tidal hydrology, anthropogenic eu- trophication, and rising sea levels. Today, Massachusetts contains 21,200 hectares of salt marsh (MassGIS 2007; USFWS 2007).1 Although statewide comprehensive numbers of confirmed tidal restrictions are not available, the state ’s Wetlands Restoration Program (WRP) has developed atlases for the majority of the state ’s coastal regions that identify over six hundred potential tidal restrictions. Anecdotal assessment of confirmed and suspected restrictions from these atlases and other sources suggests that over 4000 hectares of existing coastal wetlands are impacted by restricted or blocked tidal flow.
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References
Bromberg, K. D., and M. D. Bertness. 2005. “Reconstructing New England Salt Marsh Losses Using Historical Maps.” Estuaries and Coasts 28:823–32.
Carlisle, B. K., R. W. Tiner, M. Carullo, I. K. Huber, T. Nuerminger, C. Polzen, and M. Shaffer. 2005. 100 Years of Estuarine Marsh Trends in Massachusetts (1893 to 1995): Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha ’s Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands. Cooperative Report, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; Hadley, MA: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts.
MassGIS DEP Wetlands [computer file]. 2007. Boston, MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS). http://www.mass.gov/mgis/.
USFWS National Wetlands Inventory [computer file]. 2007. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. http://www.fws.gov/wetlands.
Note
MassGIS DEP Wetlands and USFWS National Wetland Inventory data were processed by the authors using the methods described in Carlisle et al. 2005. Source dates for these data vary by locale; the most current data available were used.
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Durey, H., Durey, H., Smith, T., Carullo, M. (2012). Restoration of Tidal Flow to Salt Marshes:. In: Roman, C.T., Burdick, D.M. (eds) Tidal Marsh Restoration. The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-229-7_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-229-7_10
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