Study Area: Cape Cod
Period: 1999-2004
Funds: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with in-kind match and support from various non-Federal partners

Download Grant Report Volume 1: Relationship of salt marsh Indices of Biotic Integrity to surrounding land use, 1999 (PDF - 4.18M)

Download Grant Report Volume 2: Response of selected salt marsh indicators to tide restriction 2000-2003 (PDF - 8.52M)

The primary focus of the Cape Cod Salt Marsh Assessment Project is to advance and improve the salt marsh assessment approach developed by the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM) team through the application and review of the existing protocol in two different assessment investigations.

The first investigation, conducted in the 1999 field season (May to October index period), examined salt marsh indicators from six sites on the Cape Cod Bay coast; these sites had varying types and intensities of human land use or disturbance.

The second investigation is a long-term comparison of indicators from three pairs of salt marshes–each pair having a marsh area with restricted tidal hydrology and a corresponding area with normal tidal hydrology. The intent of this work is to document differences in indicators before and after tidal restoration actions.