New York State Salt Marsh Restoration and …

1 NEW york STATESALT Marsh RESTORATIONAND monitoring GUIDELINESG eorge E. Pataki, GovernorAlexander P. Treadwell, Secretary of StateJohn P. Cahill, Commissioner,Department of Environmental ConservationNew york StateSalt Marsh Restoration and monitoring Guidelinesprepared by:Nancy L. Niedowskifor theNew york State Department of StateDivision of Coastal Resources41 State StreetAlbany, NY 12231- and -New york State Department of Environmental ConservationDivision of Fish, Wildlife and Marine ResourcesBureau of Marine Resources205 N. Belle Meade RoadEast Setauket, NY 11733 December 15, 2000 The salt Marsh Restoration and monitoring guidelines were prepared under the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center Coastal ManagementFellowship Program, which places recent graduates in coastal management and relatedfields with State coastal programs to conduct special two-year projects.

2 The CoastalManagement Fellowship Program is administered by NOAA Coastal Services Center, 2234 South Hobson Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina financial assistance was provided through a federal grant from the of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office ofOcean and Coastal Resource Management, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of1972, as New york State Coastal Management Program is administered by the New york StateDepartment of State , Division of Coastal Resources, 41 State Street, Albany, New 2000 PREFACEAll salt Marsh Restoration activities are regulated, and require permits and this guidance document does not relieve the reader of regulatory requirements,nor does it guarantee receipt of a permit.

3 This document does not waive existingregulatory standards. Using this document should not be substituted for communicationwith permit staff regarding a proposed salt Marsh Restoration project. Regional permitstaff should always be contacted by a project proponent early in the planning processand prior to submission of permit document is primarily intended to guide voluntary Restoration projects, notmitigation projects. Mitigation projects are constrained by specific regulatorystandards. This document does not modify or waive any program standards formitigation. In addition, while voluntary projects are more flexible in goal-setting anddesign, such projects will nevertheless be subject to regulatory requirements, includingpermits and approvals from the State and federal salt Marsh Restoration and monitoring guidelines are primarily intended for usewith projects sponsored by municipalities.

4 Individuals with ideas for restorationprojects are strongly encouraged to collaborate with their municipality, and to contactregional Department of Environmental Conservation staff prior to project in identified tidal wetlands, including salt marshes on private property, areregulated by the State of New york , and require permits and OF CONTENTSLIST OF OF Purpose of the salt Marsh Restoration and monitoring Intended Audience and Format of the Overall Goal Setting for Habitat Restoration in New york Definitions of Principal Planning Considerations in salt Marsh TEMPERATE salt Marsh HABITAT salt Marsh salt Marshes in New york salt Marsh salt Marsh Fish and salt Marsh Conceptual Model for salt Marsh System Introduction to Conceptual Controlling Attributes of the Controlling Structural Attributes of the Structural Specific Functional Generic Activities Affecting salt Marshes and Adjacent HUMAN DISTURBANCES.

5 Restricted Tidal Diking & Shoreline Hardening & Sea Level NATURAL DISTURBANCES .. Seasonal Natural POST-DISTURBANCE CONDITIONS IN salt Changes in Tidal Regime .. Changes in Changes in salt Marsh OVERVIEW OF Restoration Manipulating Tidal General Measuring Tidal Duration of Sizing of Open Marsh Water Low-lying Manipulating Elevation, Slope, and General Substrate Tidal Heavy Manipulating Planting vs. Natural Spartina alterniflora Spartina alterniflora Stems, Plugs, and Potted Spartina alterniflora Planting Spartina alterniflora Spartina alterniflora Spacing of Other Plant Estimated Costs for Invasive Species Control: Common General Common Reed Disturbances Favoring Common Natural History of Common Impacts caused by Common Ecological Value of Common Determining the Need for Control Methods for Common Tidal Cutting and Cutting and Mowing Combined with Other Controlled Controlled Burning Combined with Other Chemical salt Marsh Restoration RECOMMENDED monitoring COMMON REED CONTROL RECOMMENDED salt Marsh COMMON REED CONTROL AFIELD AND REPORTING FORMS FOR RECOMMENDED salt Marsh Restoration monitoring BWORLD WIDE WEB RESOURCES RELEVANT FOR salt Marsh CRESTORATION PROJECT DFEDERAL AND State LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO WETLAND Restoration AND EKNOWLEDGEABLE OF FIGURES PAGEF igure and Considerations

6 For Restoration 2. Recreational Marsh Development Over Marsh Ditching in Long Island Over a Ditch and Quadrat Placement for salt Marsh of Appropriate Reference Quadrat for salt Marsh and Quadrat Placement for Phragmites Control Quadrat for Phragmites Control Vegetation Zones Along a OF TABLESPAGET able Primary Productivity of Various of Nursery-Grown salt Marsh Plant INTRODUCTIONP lanning, design, and implementation of publicly and privately sponsored salt marshrestoration projects in the northeast United states is rapidly increasing. Bothgovernmental and non-governmental entities are looking beyond habitat protectionalone, and are turning their attention to the possibilities of habitat implementation of salt Marsh Restoration projects is partially attributable tothe availability of funding ( , Natural Resources Damage Assessment Program,Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program), and the incorporation of restorationconsiderations into ongoing resource management programs ( , National EstuaryPrograms, National Estuarine Research Reserves).

7 The increase in implementation isalso a result of improving science and information on practical salt Marsh guidelines have been developed as part of the State s overall policy to conserve,improve, and protect its natural resources and , as stated in Title 1,section 0101 of the New york State Environmental Conservation Law (ECL). Thispolicy is echoed and expanded upon in several other sections of the ECL and in theState s Coastal Management Program with several specific charges to restore degradedhabitat for the purposes of maintaining the health and viability of fish and wildlifepopulations (ECL Title 3, (n); Title 11, (b)(1), Title 13, ,Executive Law Article 42, 913). salt marshes are a vital part of healthy coastalecosystems and the fish and wildlife populations that depend on the increase in State funding opportunities for aquatic habitat Restoration throughthe 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act and several years of full funding of theEnvironmental Protection Fund, local planning and implementation of aquatic habitatrestoration projects has substantially increased.

8 Notably lacking, however, is stateguidance on Restoration planning, project design, and implementation. The guidelines also seek to address common shortcomings noted by scientists andnatural resource managers in past Restoration projects. Some consistently highlightedissues (Kusler and Kentula, 1990) include:C poorly planned and designed projects,C lack of baseline site information (no pre-project monitoring ),C lack of workplan compliance (no compliance monitoring ),2C lack of post-project monitoring ,C inadequate monitoring (too short, wrong parameters),C project information and data lost or inaccessible,C data lack comparability among different projects or over time, andC no determination, or a faulty determination, of success or failure is guidelines in this report attempt to provide a framework for salt Marsh restorationactivities, including planning, design, implementation and wetlands, including salt Marsh habitats, are protected in the State of New Yorkunder Article 25 of Environmental Conservation Law, the Tidal Wetlands Act.

9 Alltidal wetland Restoration projects are regulated activities in New york State and requireboth State and federal permits. Use of these guidelines does not waive regulatoryrequirements, nor does is guarantee receipt of required permits and approvals. Use ofthese guidelines also should not be substituted for consultation with Department ofEnvironmental Conservation permit staff prior to submission of permit must research your project s regulatory requirements, consult with appropriatepermit staff, and file all required permit applications. Appendix D contains a listing ofstate and federal statutes that regulate activities in tidal wetlands. The Appendix alsolists statutes that support federal involvement in ecosystem Purpose of the salt Marsh Restoration and monitoring GuidelinesThis guidance document should assist in improving standards of practice for theburgeoning array of salt Marsh Restoration activities in the State of New york .

10 Theincrease in funded habitat Restoration projects highlights the need for acceptedreference standards to guide project planning, techniques, and monitoring to measuresuccess. Holding all projects to more consistent standards increases the likelihood ofachieving success and ensures that public dollars are wisely this end, the guidance document has been designed to provide a comprehensive,accessible, and understandable source for current technical information on salt marshrestoration and ecology, to increase the quality of Restoration project planning. Theguidelines include Restoration monitoring protocols that were researched and developedto provide essential and standardized pre-project, compliance, and post-projectinformation for the evaluation of project success.