Environmental News

Restoring a Salt Marsh

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Once, factory runoff and dumped dredging material marred a tidal estuary in West Barrington, Allin’s Cove. Now, the cove is a pleasant place to take a walk or paddle a canoe or kayak.

In 1993 Sandra Wyatt moved into the Bay Spring Neighborhood, and wondered about the cove – three-and-a-half acres of marshland and water – just steps outside her door. During that first year she noticed erosion threatening the bank supporting the road.”

Sandra discovered old mills had once dumped dyes and heavy metals into Allin’s Cove. In 1959, the US Army Corps of Engineers used the cove to dump dredge material after digging navigation channels nearby.

She first got involved about 1995, and spent time meeting with local people who cared about the cove, town officials and members of environmental agencies. She learned of a federal bill requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to “right past wrongs.” In 2005, with the help of funding from federal sources, the town of Barrington, the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and the Army Corps restored the salt marsh and took some measures to control erosion. Shortly after that work was completed, 100 volunteers planted thousands of marsh grasses on the upland side of the cove.

Since that time, work on the cove has included setting down more “core logs,” coconut fiber wrapped around sand, to help hold down the shore. It is not easy in a tidal environment to establish a protective barrier for the long term. “This is probably the fourth attempt at making something stay,” Sandra says.

The most recent work in October of 2013 involved eradicating invasive plants Japanese knotweed and Phragmites, then planting salt marsh grasses Spartina alternaflora and Spartina patins in the lower marsh area, close to Sandra’s home. Planning for much of the ongoing work was accomplished by consultants with Save the Bay and CRMC. The town of Barrington helped on multiple occasions with manpower.

This spring will show how well the latest planting of marsh grasses has taken. Sandra says much of the salt marshes around the country have been destroyed by building projects that filled in the marsh, but their existence is important. Marshland is essential to protecting the land; it dissipates wave action and absorbs water so any structures along the shore are buffered from the tides. Protecting Allin’s Cove is a long-term project with effects that move far beyond one small area. “Salt marsh is good for all marine creatures. It’s a breeding ground, a nursery, a protective place for shellfish and small fin fish.”

marshland, environment, teh bay

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