9460

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9460
• Author: Wentz, W. A.
• Title: Wetlands Values and Management.
• USFW Year: 1981.
• USFW - Doc Type: Washington, D.C.
• Copyright Material: NO

Salt Marshes

Extensive salt marshes and brackish
marshes occur in North America, primarily
along the coasts. They are dominated by
salt-tolerant plants, such as the cord-
grasses, and are greatly affected by tides.
These important marshes have many val-
ues for modern man. Salt marshes are
spawning and nursery areas for fish and
shellfish of the oceans and estuaries and
without them commercial fishermen would
be out of business. They provide buffer
zones that can protect homes from ocean
storms and they help to filter out water
pollutants. Salt marshes provide refuge
for wildlife and waterfowl concentrate in
them in high numbers during the winter.
They are places of great beauty at all
seasons and they provide many recre-
ational opportunities.
At one time drainage for mosquito
control was prominent on our coastal

marshes. Extensive ditching is still visible
in many areas, but today new techniques
of mosquito control have made drainage
unnecessary. Slight manipulation of salt
marsh and brackish marsh areas can alle-
viate mosquito problems by consolidating
very small water holes into larger marsh
openings and by opening other areas to
tidal action. A combination of the tidal
action and the introduction of small mos-
quito-eating fish into the larger openings
will discourage mosquitoes. The creation
of these larger open water areas also
attracts water birds of many kinds. Such
manipulation has been so successful in
some areas that mosquito pesticide use
has been nearly eliminated. Some states
have recognized the values of their salt
marshes and placed severe restrictions
on any destruction of these important
habitats.

6