Synthesizing Monitoring Data to Improve Coastal Wetland Management Across New England - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

This project synthesized Sentinel Site data for four New England National Estuarine Research Reserves (Great Bay, Narragansett, Waquoit Bay, and Wells), which have been individually monitoring salt marsh vegetation and elevation changes since at least 2011. The project team developed statistics-ready data packages linking vegetation change with surface elevation and other data, including output from an inundation tool. This project equipped New England reserves and coastal managers with new information to inform and improve the management, protection, and restoration of salt marshes. It produced an improved Sentinel Site monitoring protocol and established a methodology for analysis of marsh condition that can be used across the reserve system and by coastal managers nationwide. This catalyst project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to advance collaborative science. It did not produce any new data.