Aligning salt marsh science with management needs

User Stories

As the old saying goes, “If you want to go fast, you have to go alone. If you want to go far, you have to go with others.”

As a result of these partnerships, USGS marsh vulnerability science is making strides, being applied to specific needs, and having tangible impacts on policymaking and on-the-ground management.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Southeast Region

The collaboration between the USGS and the USFWS began around 2020 when the USFWS heard a presentation on UVVR. Dr. Michelle Moorman, an ecologist at the USFWS, was eager to see how surface elevation table data, an in situ marsh monitoring technique, correlated with UVVR. Additionally, NWRs in the Southeast were interested in finding a remote sensing tool that could be used to assess NWR marshes, especially in areas where no other information was available. The partnership began applying UVVR to national wildlife refuges in the Southeast region.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked together to create an interactive map of some of the southeastern national wildlife refuges, combining the UVVR dataset with national wildlife refuge boundaries and surface elevation data. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managers and target refuge staff were asked to provide feedback throughout the development process on the usefulness and usability of the viewer, the accuracy of the map data compared to field observations, and how this information could be used to support refuge management planning.

“Collaboration across the board helped us create tools that met a wide range of needs and provided a clear understanding of the data,” said Michelle Moorman, Southeast Region Ecologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We used staff input to create custom story maps, such as Waccamaw National Wildlife Refugeshowing how valuable this information is for each location.”

By working together, they were able to create a valuable tool that leverages UVVR and SET data and provides the information USFWS needs to track marsh restoration efforts and support land management decisions.

An interactive viewer helps identify stable and unstable areas of target wetlands and quantify vulnerability. Identifying currently vulnerable and stable wetlands relative to sea level rise helps managers determine where to implement resist, accept, or direct (RAD) climate adaptation strategies on the landscape and can increase vegetated wetland areas on national wildlife refuges.

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve

Dr. Chris Feurt, director of the Coastal Training Program at the National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Wells, Maine, initiated the collaboration with the USGS. Her goal is to provide coastal resource and infrastructure managers with the science to enhance marsh resilience.

The collaboration between the USGS and Wells NERR serves as a catalyst for continued restoration research by introducing USGS geospatial products related to marsh health to federal, state, and nongovernmental agencies.

In February 2024, Dr. Feurt and Dr. Ganju hosted a workshop at Wells NERR titled Marsh for Maine’s FutureThey demonstrated how to use marsh units, UVVR, and geospatial layers created for Maine to support conservation and management decisions across the state. Participants even used USGS data on the fly to assess the restoration potential of their specific sites.

The success of the workshop was just the beginning of an increased collaboration between the USGS and Wells NERR. Dr. Feurt continues to use USGS geospatial data for statewide recovery planning and is writing a proposal to encourage other NERRs to do the same.

In addition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Southeast Region and the Wells National Institute of Natural Resources, Dr. Ganju has partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Audubon Society, and the National Park Service.

Working with these organizations is mutually beneficial. They help guide our science, and these organizations get products that meet their needs. We gain advocates for the USGS and provide actionable information to those who need to assess wetland health, identify restoration opportunities, and make other management decisions.