Tucked into the tall grasses of the Great Marsh, hidden in nests built atop small mounds of sediment, lives the saltmarsh sparrow. These elusive birds, which live their entire lives in the marsh, are a sign of ecological health.
“When these small shorebirds are present, it’s a good indication of a healthy high marsh habitat,” said Alejandra Narvaez, Coastal Project Manager for The Trustees of Reservations.
For Narvaez and her team, restoring the marsh is as much about protecting biodiversity as it is about climate resilience. Their work—spanning thousands of acres from Salisbury to Gloucester—is reshaping the marsh’s landscape to boost habitat for species like the saltmarsh sparrow, while also buffering coastal communities from sea level rise.
The Great Marsh remains a priority because of its scale and proximity to the Gulf of Maine—where sea levels are rising faster than almost anywhere else in the world.
“If we’re going to put all our eggs in one basket, this should be the basket,” said Narvaez.
The Trustees’ goal is to expand high marsh habitat—areas of taller grasses ideal for sparrow nesting—using nature-based methods. Sediment dredged from ditch remediation projects is repurposed to elevate the marsh platform and create “micro-topography,” or nesting islands. Nesting islands are spaced intentionally to reduce predator impact. “Predators learn the patterns quickly when the nests are too close together,” Narvaez said.
The restoration aims to return the marsh to a more natural state with single-channel hydrology by pushing sediment to settle and build up marsh elevation at a pace that can match sea level rise.
Leave it to the Marsh Wizards
The Trustees’ first phase of restoration targeted 85 acres in Newbury’s Old Town Hill Reservation. Phase two— underway now—will restore 280 more acres across Newbury, Essex, and Ipswich. Techniques include the “trio” method: ditch remediation, tunneling to connect tidal pools, and building micro-topography.
Despite the scale, the work leaves minimal impact. Machines distribute weight using “marshmats,” and construction is carefully timed to avoid breeding seasons and high tides. Work pauses when saltmarsh sparrows are nesting, typically from May through August.
Still, the timing is tight. “You only get a couple of workable weeks a month, depending on tides,” said Narvaez.
After two years of ditch remediation and runnel construction, the Trustees are preparing for phase three—over 1,000 acres. Permitting is ongoing, with baseline monitoring expected to begin in summer 2025 and implementation in the fall.
Team Effort
The project is a massive team effort. Internally, Trustees staff coordinate permitting, design, and implementation. Externally, they work with groups like the University of New Hampshire, New East Wetland Restoration, and environmental consultant Mary Rimmer. A broader coalition—the Salt Marsh Adaptation and Resiliency Teams (SMARTeams), which includes NOAA—helps develop and train others in restoration techniques.
This year, MassWildlife is leading a new Coastal Ecosystem Recovery Project under the SMARTeams Academy. Five teams will receive training to support current and future marsh restoration projects across the region.
“I’ll partner with pretty much anybody,” said Peter Phippen, coordinator of the Eight Towns and the Great Marsh Committee, and Essex Board of Selectmen, another project supporter. “Whether it’s Mass Audubon, Trustees of Reservations, UNH, The Parker River Wildlife Refuge, whoever’s the property owner will be a partner. So, if we’re doing a Trustees property, it’s the Trustees, and then the towns.”
Collaboration, Narvaez added, keeps spirits high in a field where progress can feel slow and permitting can be daunting. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, by implementing a project within the next 5 to 10 years is also helpful for Narvaez.
Navigating Road Blocks
The path to restoration is anything but smooth. Funding comes from a patchwork of private donations and state and federal grants. Regulations—designed to protect wetlands from harm—don’t always align with modern restoration practices.
“At every level it’s not easy, there’s so many hoops you have to jump through,” said Phippen.
Newer restoration techniques, like thin-layer deposition of sediment, help elevate the marsh quickly.
“[It] spreads the fine dredge material on the marsh in real thin layers, like half an inch,” said Phippen. “Do that over and over, and that helps build up the marsh elevation. The marsh can grow right through the small thicknesses of sediment on the grasses and keep up against sea level rising.”
In late 2024, MassDEP released updated guidance on thin-layer placement, seen as a lifeline for degraded marshes—especially further south on Cape Cod.
According to Narvaez, while the Great Marsh is still relatively healthy, proactive restoration is critical.
“We’re going to need every single year [between now and 2100] to help the marsh continue to accrete in elevation,” she said.
The Trustees also focus on the core belief of improving the marsh through intense monitoring programs that increase when the scale of the work increases. They take advice from
organizations that have led the way through similar size restoration efforts such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services .
Guidelines are also in place that prohibit alteration of salt marshes. Historically, The Wetlands Protection Act by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) was enacted in 1972 to protect these important wetland areas and since the marsh restoration techniques are fairly new, within the last 10 years, the current policies increase the amount of permitting needed to complete these restoration projects. The Trustees themselves have received criticism to leave the marsh alone to heal itself. While this will happen eventually, Narvaez explains, the marsh doesn’t have the luxury of eventually.
“In the last decade, we realized we need to manipulate the wetlands in order to give them a fighting chance against sea level rise. But all of our regulations are built to prevent that,” said Narvaez. “Both practitioners and regulators want to make sure we’re not doing more harm than good, while at the same time recognizing that we don’t have a lot of time to lose and want to help the marsh as soon as possible.”
Working at the Speed of Nature
Even though the Great Marsh is overall in good condition, due to its size and impact, the non invasive, nature-based techniques are implemented for restoration. The newly set MassDEP guidelines for thin layer placement of sediment is more of a quick fix.
Phippen also pointed to organizations like Town Green that are creating resilience projects and emergency management for four Cape Ann communities and Ispwich, to inform and engage both citizens and scientists, and also the importance of prioritizing science programs based on solving a problem. For example the long-term UMass Amherst monitoring program, Narvaez highlights, will establish a guide to conservation efforts starting this year and will be focused on current or planned project areas.
Roughly 10% of the global population of saltmarsh sparrows lives in Massachusetts. They nest in the same location year after year—a behavior called nesting fidelity. Because of this, The Trustees are working with MassWildlife on a habitat management plan to allow work to continue without disrupting nests. If active nests are found, construction halts.
Part of the MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program details a time of year restriction from May to August for this restoration work in order to protect these birds. Ultimately, the team hopes to expand habitat enough to boost sparrow numbers.
They haven’t seen an increase in saltmarsh sparrows—yet—but they haven’t seen a decline either. That stability, Narvaez said, is a good sign. “We know we’re not hurting them. And once more high marsh habitat is established, we hope to see them return in greater numbers.”
Jewel Farrin is a student at Endicott College studying journalism. This article was produced in partnership with the Massachusetts News Service.
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