Sunken Meadow Salt Marsh Restoration

Sunken Meadow State Park's 135-acre tidal marsh complex has experienced severe alteration caused by human disturbance, invasive species, and sea level rise. Audubon has designed a 70-80 acre marsh restoration project within the complex that will focus on coastal resiliency and improvements to high marsh habitat in an effort to help the rapidly declining Saltmarsh Sparrow and other marsh-dependent species. We will restore low and high marsh systems, elevate marsh platform through sediment placement, remove and control invasive species (such as Phragmites australis), improve drainage of marsh by creating new marsh channels and eliminating old mosquito ditches, and planting native species. The view from this location will show seasonal changes in the marsh, as well as the improvements occurring through habitat restoration and management over time.