Recent and Planned Marsh Establishment Work Throughout the Contiguous United States - A Survey and Basic Guidelines.

摘要

Information on deliberate marsh establishment work that is planned, underway, or completed throughout the contiguous United States from 1970-1976 has been identified. Excluding WES projects currently underway, marsh establishment projects at 105 district locations have been completed for at least 1 year and 14 projects are planned for the immediate future. Out of the 105 completed or continuing marsh establishment projects, 9 were totally unsuccessful (due to vandalism, Canada geese eat-out, wave exposure too severe for seeding, or site surface elevations too low for seeding). Eighteen projects were sited in freshwater or nearly freshwater locations, 68 on the east coast, 17 on the Gulf coast, 8 on the west coast, and 12 inland; 59 were purely experimental. Practical guidelines for site preparation, marsh establishment, and site management and maintenance were developed and are discussed. The two most important factors for preparing a site for marsh establishment were surface slopes and surface elevations. Within the tidal zone, surface slopes should be developed such that they exhibit reasonable stabilities in the absence of vegetative cover. Surface elevations must be carefully considered and tied in with the various zones of marsh types existing in the region. Acceptable tolerances of surface elevations are most stringent in areas subject to tidal amplitudes of 2 ft or less.