salt marsh restoration site selection tool

Salt Marsh Restoration Site Selection Tool

An Example Application:

Ranking Potential Salt

Marsh Restoration Sites Using Social and Environmental Factors

Ranking Potential SaltMarsh Restoration Sites Using Social and

Environmental Factors

Site selection is one of the first steps in project planning, followed by site assessment and project design.

This geographic information system (GIS)-based tool was designed to assist with site selection by helping the restoration planner identify restoration opportunities that meet multifunctional management goals.

The outputs of this tool should only be used in combination with expert opinion, local knowledge, and site-specific information to identify appropriate restoration opportunities.

Salt Marsh Site Selection Tool

Ranking Potential SaltMarsh Restoration Sites Using Social and

Environmental Factors

The major strength of the tool is that it allows the simultaneous evaluation of multiple selection criteria. The following slides demonstrate one example of how the tool can be used to find restoration projects that may:

Be of potential recreational and scenic value to the public Provide educational opportunities for local school children Provide protection to critical subtidal habitat Provide habitat for colonial nesting birds Enhance connections between existing natural areas and the restored salt

marshes Reduce the impact of point-source pollution Provide substantially-sized salt marsh habitat Restore native vegetation Control the spread of Phragmites or other “invasive species"


Step 1 – Load the Data:The tool uses spatial data layers (grids) of all of the critical decision making criteria to calculate

the suitability of a particular salt marsh to a given set of management goals.


The tool scores the salt marsh sites based on multiple criteria based on user choice.


Step 2 –Analysis:

Step 2 –Analysis:All salt marsh restoration sites within the specified region will be scored

according to the criteria that the user chooses for the analysis.


For this analysiswe have chosen North Kingstown.

Step 2 – Analysis:


Public Amenity Values

The tool will use the chosen criteria to score the potential restoration sites.

These choices should reflect specific management goals.

Step 2 – Set Up the Analysis:Logistical criteria allow for better feasibility planning.


Logistics:

Sites that have sufficient road access will be more accessible to the public.

Step 2 – Set Up the Analysis:Ecological management objectives are incorporated into the scoring

along with the previously chosen public amenity values.


Ecological Values and Pollution Abatement

Step 3 – Weight the Scoring Criteria:The tool then allows weighting of the the chosen criteria according to the

priorities determined when formulating the management objectives.


Step 4 –Visualize the Results:


Score

The tool scores and maps the potential restoration sites. This gives the user a look at the rank of the various restoration sites and their location.

Step 5 – Create Reports:Using the reporting function of the tool, key characteristics

of the potential restoration areas are output into text-based reports

for further reflection and analysis.


Step 5 – Examine Restoration Potential:The reports are used to initiate further investigations into the restoration

potential of specifically identified high scoring sites.


Using the OutputsThe combination of the ranking function of the tool, site specific information, and the ability to display ancillary

data, along with results, leads

to enhanced restoration planning.


Wetland Complex Name: West Passage

Wetland Complex Size: 11.6 acres

Watershed: West Bay

On-site Impacts: Severely tidally-restricted (Phragmites >30% cover), Vegetation change/Phragmites-dominated

Restoration Actions: Reduce tidal constriction & remove Phragmites

Site Specific Information Provided by the Tool

More Informed Restoration Planning

Map-Enhanced Visualization


Using the Outputs

The results are a prioritized regional data set of potential restoration opportunities.

The outputs can assist with restoration planning by Viewing them in the context of other relevant data layers Comparing results among differing priorities to identify common

areas Providing a quantifiable and repeatable approach to decision-making Implementing alternate management practices.

The results serve as a starting point for pursuing site-specific information, gathering expert opinion, and assessing restoration feasibility.