Gulf of Maine: Council on the Marine Environment

Gulf of Maine Projects

1996 Coastal Habitat Restoration Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Gulf of Maine is a dynamic system, complete with open ocean habitat, estuaries linking land and sea by way of rivers and tidal wetlands, and rocky shorelines and islands that are nesting grounds for thousands of migratory seabirds. This system, that has taken millennia to evolve, has taken humans only three centuries to degrade. Hundreds of dams now barricade salmon and herring spawning grounds, while diking and water control structures have converted over half of the marshes in the Bay of Fundy to agricultural lands. In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, a majority of the salt marshes have been ditched and drained for mosquito control, while roads and coastal development have severed links between land and sea. With increased pressures and impacts on coastal habitats, waterfowl, seabird, and anadromous fish populations have plummeted. Less obvious impacts, such as poor water quality, have contaminated shellfish beds and decimated meadows of seagrass, which many species of fish and invertebrates depend upon for survival.

In an effort to reverse this destructive trend and strive toward a net gain in natural resources, environmentalists are looking more and more toward restoration as part of the solution. The term restoration as it is used here refers to the various ways in which humans are altering the existing environment in an effort to reverse cumulative impacts to habitats and their affiliated species. Efforts over the past few decades show promise and have included restoring tidal flow to salt marshes, transplanting seagrass, providing fish passage at dams and restoring spawning grounds, and building wetland habitat for waterfowl. Hundreds of government and non-government organizations, scientists, consultants, educators, and advocates are working toward the protection and restoration of coastal habitats and species in the Gulf. Sharing information and communication is increasingly important with this wide range of interest groups and the diversity of work being conducted. Improvements in communication will enable us to learn from our experiences, prevent duplication of efforts, identify restoration opportunities and funding partners, and form collaborations.