Climate Change Challenge
Salt Marshes play a crucial role in the state's carbon mitigation efforts, storing approximately 40,000 metric tons of carbon annually. However, salt marshes have degraded over time due to extensive agricultural and mosquito control practices. They are also becoming increasingly threatened by multiple stressors including sea level rise, excess nutrients, sediment starvation, crab herbivory, and invasive species.
Project Alignment with ResilientMass Plan Priority Actions
One of the ResilientMass Plan’s goals is “Implementing adaptation actions for communities and ecosystems”. The MassMarsh project seeks to coordinate with salt marsh practitioners throughout the state to create a central repository for all salt marsh monitoring efforts in order to detail the status of salt marsh restoration projects and the condition of salt marshes across the state. Additionally, by detailing the methods and outcomes of salt marsh restoration projects, state regulatory agencies strive to reduce permitting requirements over time. These restoration methods allow the salt marsh to adapt to changing conditions such as sea level rise and improve overall ecosystem health, meeting the ResilientMass Plan goal.
Climate Resilience Project Scope
In October 2024, MassDEP contracted with UMass Amherst to develop a long-term salt marsh monitoring plan that would: 1) provide support to entities implementing salt marsh restoration projects; 2) provide data on the impact of stressors on salt marsh health and resiliency; 3) review and assess the effectiveness of selected salt marsh restoration methods; and 4) inform practitioners, academics, regulators and other interested parties as to the effectiveness of particular salt marsh restoration methods. At the end of Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025, UMass completed development of the Plan.
The Plan benefits the salt marsh practitioner community by standardizing monitoring protocols and leveraging remotely sensed data (satellite and drone) to reduce the resources needed for permitting and project-based monitoring. The Plan benefits salt marshes by utilizing newly standardized monitoring observations to help assess which factors lead to the most successful restoration projects. Finally, developing the Plan provided a platform to bring together restoration leaders and experts across the state. Collaboration will enable scalability of restoration methods that are urgently needed to meet the existential threat of accelerating sea level rise.
Metrics and Results
For the first year of this project process metrics included the development of an advisory committee. The Committee included salt marsh practitioners from across the state and federal government, non-profit members, and consultants. Membership organizations include MA CZM, Mass Bays, EPA, NOAA, MA DER, USFWS, Mashpee-Wampanoag, Mass Wildlife, The Trustees, Mass Audubon, National Park Service, Woods Hole Group, Tigh and Bond, UNH, Buzzards Bay Coalition, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Marine Biological Laboratory.
Results included the development of a long-term plan for the future of this program. The plan included input from the advisory committee and will benefit the salt marsh community and increase the capacity for restoration and adaptation. In addition to the plan, three standard operating procedures (SOPs) documents on salt marsh monitoring were published. The SOPs include salt marsh vegetation monitoring, hydrology monitoring, and elevation monitoring. These SOPs will standardize salt marsh monitoring across the state and enable researchers and the MassMarsh program to analyze results.
Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Best practices here included regular meetings between DEP and the UMass team to ensure that we were on schedule, and regular advisory committee meetings to allow all members to provide frequent input.
Further Action
This project is intended to be a long-term (~20 years) program. The first year was spent developing the plan and SOPs. Continuing the program will allow it collect useful data and facilitate salt marsh restoration and adaptation projects throughout the commonwealth.