Another Chesapeake Bay Salt Marsh Restored

Habitat restoration
Another Chesapeake Bay Salt Marsh Restored
Status
Completed

States

Maryland

Ecosystem

Coastal, Wetland

Subject

Habitat restoration
Salt marsh

The Chesapeake Bay Coastal Program and its partners completed restoration of a 35-acre  salt marsh salt marsh
Salt marshes are found in tidal areas near the coast, where freshwater mixes with saltwater.

Learn more about salt marsh  (“Langmaid”) in Worcester County, Maryland approximately 20 miles south of Ocean City. The Coastal Program collaborated with Western Maryland Conservation and Development Council, Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Sovereign Consulting to design and restore this site to reestablish tidal connectivity.

Tidal channel and hummocks in restored Chesapeake Bay salt marsh in Worcester County, Maryland.
Image Details
Tidal channel and hummocks in restored Chesapeake Bay salt marsh in Worcester County, Maryland.

Restoring this salt marsh through excavation of runnels and channels will improve coastal resiliency and restore habitat for marsh-dependent birds such as salt marsh sparrow and Eastern black rail. Prior research has found that installing targeted runnels and channels is a low-tech, low-cost approach to relieve waterlogging and promote revegetation by restoring tidal hydrology. To increase efficiency and economize on planning and construction costs, biologists used data from a similar project constructed in 2024.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund Grant, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and others provided funding for this project.

Contact

Programs

Gathering of Puffins on brown rock
The Coastal Program is one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s most effective resources for restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat on public and privately-owned lands. We play an important role in promoting the Service’s mission and priorities, delivering landscape-scale...
Program
Falls Church,VA

Species