Restoration of Tidal Flow to Degraded Tidal Wetlands in Connecticut

Abstract

Connecticut’s tidal wetlands, ranging from salt marsh to freshwater tidal wetlands, occur along the shores of Long Island Sound and border the tidal portions of the state’s rivers (e.g., Connecticut, Quinnipiac, and Housatonic). Today, approximately 5900 hectares of tidal wetland occur in Connecticut, two thirds of which is Spartina (cordgrass)-dominated salt marsh (Warren et al. 2002). Tide gates, dikes, impoundments, road and railroad crossings, and undersized culverts contribute significantly to the hydromodification of tidal flow to Connecticut’s tidal wetlands (Rozsa 1995), a leading cause of wetland degradation. The systematic restoration of these degraded tidal wetlands is a program that is over thirty years old and was a vision of the Coastal Area Management Program (now the Office of Long Island Sound Programs) of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This successful program is an example of the implementation of all aspects of restoration from planning through construction by a state agency. This chapter highlights program benchmarks, funding, methodology, monitoring, project examples, and future challenges regarding the restoration of salt and brackish marshes.