Quick facts
ILF Funding: $146,000
ILF Service Area: Coastal-Central
Project Location: Barnstable, MA (latitude: 41.702778, longitude: -70.3325)
Project summary
Mass Audubon requested In-Lieu Fee funding for a salt marsh rehabilitation project. Mass Audubon owns a sanctuary at Barnstable Great Marsh. The marsh is at risk because ditches were dug through it before it became a wildlife sanctuary. The ditches move water off of the marsh quickly, but marshes need to stay wet. When marshes are dry, they begin to decompose. Mass Audubon proposes to use salt hay, a plant that grows in salt marshes, to keep water on the marsh longer. They plan to lay harvested hay over the ditches to trap sediment and build marsh peat. Less water will flow out of the marsh through the ditches as they fill in with hay, peat, and new marsh plants. This will keep the marsh wet enough to prevent it from decomposing. Mass Audubon will monitor the site and make adjustments over time as needed. Salt marsh provides important habitat for fish, shellfish, and birds. It also performs valuable functions such as storing carbon. This project will expand the use of this technique to Cape Cod.
Ecological attributes
- Sandy Neck Barrier Beach System Area of Critical Environmental Concern
- Priority Habitat for Rare Species under the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program
- BioMap2 Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape