Development of a Salt Marsh Restoration Site Selection Method for Urban Harbors Thesis Overview

Research Question With the current method of salt marsh restoration site selection urban harbors are ignored. How could site selection be changed to include urban sites?

Research Hypothesis A unique method for suitable restoration site selection will address the complex challenges of urban harbors.

Thesis Goals To develop a methodology for identifying suitable sites for urban salt marsh restoration based on ecological, social, and regulatory considerations.

Method Case Study Method (Yin, 2009)

Justification

Developed urban land is considered too valuable to be restored as salt marsh. The ideal locations for salt marsh restoration in an urban harbor are the derelict portions. The derelict portions of an urban harbor through vacancy, mismanagement, or missed opportunity currently have a social, economic, and environmental value of zero. This thesis will produce a method to identify the best possible urban locales to restore as salt marsh.

Cas

e S

tudy

Site

s

Coastal Survey via Satellite Images

Case Study

Site

Site Description Site

Categorization

215 Marginal

Street

Chelsea, MA

The property is

entirely

undeveloped,

easily accessible,

and is in an urban

locale.

Abandoned Site

Chelsea Creek

Site

364 William

T Morrissey

Boulevard

Dorchester,

MA

The property coast

is entirely

unmanaged, easily

accessible, and is

in an urban locale.

Unmanaged

Coast

Savin Hill Cove

Site

7 Water Street

Dorchester,

MA

The property is a

polluted

brownfield, easily

accessible, and is

in an urban locale.

Expandable Site

Neponset River

Site

Che

lsea

Cre

ek C

ase

Stu

dy

Nep

onse

t Riv

er C

ase

Stu

dy

Sav

in H

ill C

ase

Stu

dy

The Case Study site at 215 Marginal Street, Chelsea, Massachusetts, is dominated by a derelict bulkhead, marine railways, and large piling fields strewn with planking. The site operated as the Richard T. Green Shipyard starting in 1903. The Richard T. Green Shipyard specialized in building and refitting wooden and steel ships. In addition to the wharves, the site was equipped with a machine shop, a blacksmith shop, a joiner’s shop, and a warehouse. Records at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds indicate that the site was likely vacant starting in 1957. The debris-strewn intertidal zone of the Chelsea site is covered with ballast stones, bricks, and large sections of planking. Among the fallen planking, stands of S.

alterniflora have settled and taken root. The existing stands of S. alterniflora prove that the soil at the site is capable of maintaining a self-sufficient community of marsh plants.

The Case Study site at 7 Water Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts, contains an upland portion that is polluted and utilized as construction storage. The property was initially developed in approximately 1849 as A. T. Stearns Lumber Company. The intertidal zone is dominated by the remains of two piling wharfs. The wharfs were installed in 1885 by the Albert T. Stearns Lumber Company. The site’s current condition includes a fridge marsh that abuts the 1885 seawall. The remainder of the intertidal zone is too low below mean high tide to support a marsh. The two large piling fields that are not navigable or managed as a marine resource. These piling fields could be restored as marsh if they were filled or by using another innovative technique.

The Case Study site at 364 William T Morrissey Boulevard, Dorchester, Massachusetts, contains an upland portion that is managed as a Vietnam War Memorial and a coastline that is unmanaged. The site is a shaped and sloped intertidal zone that was purposefully designed and constructed in 1957 by the Metropolitan District Commission. The license filed with the Massachusetts Division of Waterways delineates the current shape of the site and refers to the fill material as “tunnel rock spoil” . The site was open water adjacent to William T Morrissey Boulevard prior to filling. The intertidal zone contains two disconnected salt marshes. The marshes were surveyed and an accurate map of the existing and potential habitat was developed.

Met

hods

Case Study Research Method (Yin, 2009)

Data Generated Through

• Literature review • Interviews with salt marsh restoration

professionals • Coastal survey via satellite images • Archival records search • Define restorable area

– Field topographic survey – Google Earth polygons

Intro

duct

ion

Coastal salt marsh restoration research has not fully explored the potential of restoring urban waterways. The preponderance of salt marsh restoration research in Massachusetts has been conducted in sparsely developed and underpopulated areas. Two generalized types of urban harbor properties underserve their intrinsic value: unutilized coasts and derelict industrial sites. Unutilized properties are those properties whose coastal resources are ignored. These properties can be highly developed and have full upland uses; however, their coastal value is unnoticed. Urban harbors also contain many currently derelict or abandoned portions that were previously involved in the maritime industries, but are no longer managed as marine resources. They are commonly in such advanced stages of disrepair that their industrial revitalization is impossible. This thesis will address unutilized and derelict portions of Boston’s urban harbor and determine their suitability for native salt marsh habitat restoration. Restoring urban waterways and harbors to salt marshes poses many challenges that have not been previously addressed in research. Urban challenges include adjacent congested human populations, diverse stakeholder desires, and potential conflicts with urban planning and use patterns.

Con

clus

ions

D

iscu

ssio

n

Interview results provide the perception of salt marsh restoration professionals in terms of selecting a site. The comments were categorized as considerations of cost, management, social benefits, and ecological benefits. Two main precepts were the “bang for the buck” motif and ecological impacts. “Bang for the buck” refers to the concept of making the most newly restored marsh per acre per dollar spent. Ecological impacts refer to the utilization of the site by local flora and fauna as well as migratory and transient species.

Site Selection Considerations Interview results provide the perception of salt marsh restoration professionals in terms of characteristics that are weighed against each other when choosing between multiple potential sites. The main precept that was recorded was the incorporation of social concerns. Social concerns refer to abutting property owners, educational value, and community support.

Characteristics Weighed when choosing between Potential Sites

To determine the potential sites for salt marsh restoration in Boston’s urban harbor, a unique four step method of restoration site selection should begin by categorizing potential sites as either vacant, fringe expansion possible, or appropriate for intertidal alterations. The second step in the method is to physically assess current conditions. The third step in the method is to conduct a social assessment of stakeholders, abutters, and potential project champions. The final step in the method is to sort the matrix. Sorting should be done subjectively based on the stakeholder support and availability of a local project champion. The urban harbor of Boston is studded with derelict piers, former staples of daily life that are now all but forgotten. These broken-down piers, once critical to American industry, are links to Boston’s maritime past. By utilizing this method of selecting urban salt marsh restoration sites, these remnants of Boston’s history can have a role in its future.

Harvard University Extension School Sustainability and Environmental Management

Timothy Maguire

tim.j.maguire@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Anamarija Frankić, UMass Boston www.umb.edu/gbh

Presented at the 6th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration October, 2012

Tampa, Florida USA