Restoration of Salt Marsh Habitat Using Engineered Barrier Islands
Presentation Abstract
Many estuaries and intertidal areas on the west coast of North America have documented significant loss of salt marsh habitat over the past 100 years. British Columbia has 442 major estuaries and many more minor estuaries that have been impacted by agricultural activities, shoreline located industry and waterfront land development.
The Comox Valley Project Watershed Society (CVPW) has formed a team of professional and volunteer members from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia to address this serious impact. CVPW has bio-engineered a salt marsh island prototype that creates more edge habitat and intertidal channels than standard salt marsh bench restoration techniques.
CVPW, in partnership with the local community, planted the newly created salt marsh habitat with indigenous salt marsh plants focusing on those that create dense cover and have stabilizing root systems. The islands were built at a specific elevation to support the plants and armoured to protect from wave action and storm surges. Community involvement in the project has brought new awareness to the ecological importance of salt marsh habitat.
Session Title
Bringing Communities Together to Embark on Major Estuarine Restoration
Conference Track
Protection, Remediation and Restoration
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Salt marshes--Management; Salt marsh ecology--British Columbia--Comox Valley; Salt marsh restoration--British Columbia--Comox Valley
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Comox Valley (B.C.)--Environmental conditions
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Restoration of Salt Marsh Habitat Using Engineered Barrier Islands
2016SSEC
Many estuaries and intertidal areas on the west coast of North America have documented significant loss of salt marsh habitat over the past 100 years. British Columbia has 442 major estuaries and many more minor estuaries that have been impacted by agricultural activities, shoreline located industry and waterfront land development.
The Comox Valley Project Watershed Society (CVPW) has formed a team of professional and volunteer members from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia to address this serious impact. CVPW has bio-engineered a salt marsh island prototype that creates more edge habitat and intertidal channels than standard salt marsh bench restoration techniques.
CVPW, in partnership with the local community, planted the newly created salt marsh habitat with indigenous salt marsh plants focusing on those that create dense cover and have stabilizing root systems. The islands were built at a specific elevation to support the plants and armoured to protect from wave action and storm surges. Community involvement in the project has brought new awareness to the ecological importance of salt marsh habitat.
