Urban Wetland Restoration

Re-introduction of tidal inundation to restore a Spartina spp. marsh along

Woodbridge River, New Jersey

          In March of 1991, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior,   the State of New York and New Jersey, and the City of New York formed the Harbor Spill Restoration Committee (HRSC) and entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to administer sums recovered from an oil spill at the Exxon Bayway refinery in Linden, NJ.  The purpose of the MOA is to restore, rehabilitate, and acquire the equivalent of injured natural resources in the Arthur Kill and other portions of the New York/New Jersey Harbor that were impacted by the spill.  In partial fulfillment of this obligation, the HRSC has chosen to restore degraded wetlands along the Woodbridge River, a tributary to the Arthur Kill, in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.

       The project involves restoring tidal influence and facilitating colonization of Spartina spp. in a 25 acre salt marsh that has been diked along most of its perimeter, partially filled in sections and ditched for mosquito control.  These hydrologic modifications have facilitated the spread of Phragmites australis, which is the dominant plant species over approximately 15 acres of the marsh.  The goal of the restoration project is to reduce Phragmites coverage, re-establish Spartina spp. and restore salt marsh structure and function to the site.

      A long-term monitoring program has been established to evaluate the development of wetland structure and function following restoration.  We will assess changes in surface- and pore-water characteristics, plant community composition and productivity, and soil characteristics prior to and for five years following reintroduction of tidal inundation.  The program is also monitoring three reference marshes: existing stands of Spartina patens/Iva frutescens and Spartina alterniflora within the interior of the restored marsh and a nearby Phragmites-dominated marsh.  The proposed work also will identify and test indicators that can be used to accurately predict the development of difficult-to-measure attributes of salt marsh structure and function, like belowground biomass and benthic invertebrates.

This project is funded by oil spill settlement monies administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and NOAA Natural Marine Fisheries Service.  For more information, contact Chris Craft at ccraft@indiana.edu.