Wetland Assessment

Wetlands are a hallmark feature of the Delaware Estuary, where they are perhaps the most critically important type of habitat for both ecosystem health and human health. Two facets set our marshes apart from other large American estuaries: they are diverse (e.g., freshwater tidal, brackish, salt marshes) and contiguous, fringing most of the system. Despite these facts, there is currently no regular, coordinated, and consistent means to assess the status and trends of tidal wetlands across the estuary’s three states.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary recently led a collaborative effort, Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetlands Assessment (MACWA), to design a three-tiered monitoring and assessment program that will begin to track the extent and health of our diverse and abundant tidal wetlands, which appear to be increasingly lost and degraded. For this project, the PDE will work with state and academic partners to establish a network of stationary reference sites covering different types of tidal wetlands. It will also test and refine on-the-ground, quick assessment methods for larger areas. These on-the-ground measures will also be expanded estuary-wide using remote sensing approaches such as satellite and aerial imagery.

Stationary reference sites are being selected in different states, covering a range of marsh types and conditions. This intensive monitoring will be performed in: salt marshes in Delaware and New Jersey, a brackish marsh in Delaware, and freshwater tidal marshes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We will also test and adapt a new Rapid Assessment Methodology (RAM) developed by the state of Delaware so it is useable in every marsh. If fully funded, eventually this large-scale assessment will establish baseline conditions and new research methods for the various types of marshes found in the Delaware Estuary. Ultimately, data from DEWMAP will assist in decision making, priority setting, and future survey design throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and the nation.