NOAA is taking a court-side look at how we protect and restore marsh habitat to sustain fisheries and support coastal communities. Below, take a look at our marsh habitat features—and follow along at #MarshMadness on @NOAAHabitat!
5 Reasons Why We Love Wetlands
Wetlands—including marshes, mangroves, swamps, and floodplains—provide valuable benefits. They serve as habitat for the fish we eat, protect coastal communities from storms, and help filter pollution out of our water.
Learn more about the many reasons to love wetlands
Restoring the Indian River Lagoon’s Seagrass Meadows and Wetlands
NOAA is supporting a system-wide effort to restore Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, in partnership with the Indian River Lagoon Council. This work is driving large-scale seagrass and wetland restoration, delivering benefits for fisheries, water quality, and coastal communities.
Read more about large-scale wetland restoration in the Indian River Lagoon
Interactive Tool Gives Virginia Communities Data on Economic Effects of Marshes and Living Shorelines
Chesapeake Bay marshes and living shorelines play important roles in the ecosystem and benefit nearby communities. NOAA Fisheries and partners, including the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), work to restore these important places. VIMS researchers developed a tool that individual land owners, communities, and resource managers can use to help them make decisions about marsh and living shoreline projects in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula.
Read more about how the tool calculates the benefits of marsh restoration projects
Cape Cod Cranberry Bog Project Restoring Wetlands and Fish Passage for River Herring
A NOAA-funded project on the Upper Coonamessett River in Falmouth, Massachusetts, will remove fish passage barriers and restore wetlands on a former cranberry bog. This work complements earlier NOAA-funded work on the lower part of the river.
Learn more about this work to restore abandoned former cranberry bogs
Wading in to Wild Wetlands with Sultana Education Foundation and Maryland Students
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training program helps every sixth grader in Queen Anne’s County Public Schools understand how wetlands provide habitat and protect water quality. Sixth grade students from Maryland’s Matapeake Middle School turned wetlands into their classroom for a day. Sultana Education Foundation led the students through activities and discussion that connected students to the role that wetlands play in the Chesapeake Bay.
Read about the students’ experience exploring Chesapeake Bay wetlands
Coastal Wetland Habitat
Look beyond the beauty of our coastal wetlands, and you’ll find this habitat hard at work. Wetlands filter our water, protect our coastal communities from floods, and provide habitat for fish and other wildlife.
Learn more about the value of coastal wetlands and marshes
