LOCAL OBSERVATIONS: JAMAICA BAY EXPERIMENTAL MARSH RESTORATION PROJECT
Go to: Local Flora & Fauna | Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Disappearing Marshes
Saltmarshes are disappearing all along the East Coast due to a variety of factors including:
urbanization, sea level rise, and pollution. Since colonial times, the Jamaica Bay estuary has lost almost 90% of its wetlands, primarily through urbanization.
Now the remaining 10% are rapidly disappearing at an estimated rate of 50 acres per year. If this rate of loss
continues, Jamaica Bay's remaining saltmarsh islands will vanish by the year 2025.
Urbanization activities include dredging channels, digging borrow pits, filling marshes, and bulkheading shorelines. All decrease the natural sediment supply to Jamaica Bay. In a healthy marsh, sediment is continually replenished, keeping the marsh elevation in place with sea level rise. However, in Jamaica Bay, the marshlands are losing sediment quicker than it is being replaced, resulting in the drowning of marsh grasses and the sinking of marsh islands.
Big Egg Marsh Experiment
In August 2003, experimental restoration of 2 acres of saltmarsh began on Big Egg Marsh, in the southern end of
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The goal of the experimental restoration project was to raise the marsh's elevation to provide a suitable
surface for the abundant growth of marsh grass (Smooth Cordgrass) and habitat for diverse marsh wildlife.
Sand dredged from the adjacent creek bottom was sprayed over the marsh surface. Following the sediment application, more than 80 volunteers planted approximately 20,000 Smooth Cordgrass plants in the new sediment layer. These plants eventually will stabilize the new marsh surface.
Signs of Success
The Big Egg Marsh Experimental Restoration Site survived its first winter with only minor erosion. Most of the 20,000
Smooth Cordgrass seedlings planted in October are now showing vigorous growth. Furthermore, thousands of Smooth
Cordgrass seeds swash ashore and took root in the new sediment layer. A variety of wildlife including birds, fiddler crabs,
and horseshoe crabs have been observed utilizing the new sand surface. Monitoring of the restored saltmarsh's physical and chemical
characteristics, plant regrowth, and animal use will continue for many years to come.
Over the next few years The US Army Corp of Engineers plans to restore many acres of saltmarsh islands in Jamaica Bay. The lessons learned from the Big Egg Marsh experiment will be valuable to the planning of all future restoration efforts.
