An effort to preserve 1 million acres of salt water marsh along the Eastern seaboard is underway.
Courtney Reich of the Georgia Conservancy detailed what the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative is and what it means for Liberty County at the countywide midyear retreat recently.
Marshes in Georgia cover approximately 375,000 acres. There are approximately 3.8 million acres of salt marsh in the U.S., and about 1 million acres of interconnected salt marshes from North Carolina to Florida.
The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative, begun in 2021, is working toward preserving that 1 million acres of marsh from North Carolina to Florida.
“From the standpoint of Liberty County, this goes a long way to setting your environmental character,” Reich said. “Plans like the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative are going to be integral to Liberty County and what happens over the next 10 years and where the funding comes from for our salt marsh conservation.”
Liberty County residents can think of the salt marsh as green infrastructure, he said. Reich also pointed out that 70% of seafood consumed spent some of its life in the marsh.
The Georgia Conservancy is working with the Pew Charitable Trust on the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative. Marshlands serve several functions, such as protecting coastlines from flooding, erosion and storm surge. Marshes also filter runoff and support water quality and are home to a number of species vital to recreational and commercial fisheries.
Reich also said Georgia has done a good job, better than any other state, in preserving its marsh.
“We’ve done a great job in Liberty County,” he said. “A lot of the marshfront areas are conserved, but not all of them.”
The Coastal Marshlands Protection Act was passed in 1970, and Georgia was one of the first states to protect marshes from development, according to the Department of Natural Resources. The CMPA said no development can take place without a state permit.
The Shore Protection Act, extending the barrier on development to sands and shores, was passed in 1979, and the State Wildlife Action Plan was put in place in 2015.
“Anything that is done in Georgia that relates to land conservation comes out of our State Wildlife Action Plan,” Reich said. “We’re updating it right now.”
Liberty County has a different character, because of its geology and topography, Reich added. Because of the presence of the Army, much of the land surrounding Fort Stewart is in conservation easements.
“The Army is a fantastic conservation partner,” he said.
The salt marshes, though, are under pressure, from all directions. High tides are getting higher, Reich said, and there is encroaching development and rising seas, changing freshwater flows.
“We’re facing a number of challenges,” he said.
Bulkheads, which block tidal marsh migration, are discouraged, especially along living shorelines.
“Some of you have seen the problems bulkheads create,” Reich said.
Among the goals of the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative are to identify what government agencies, educational institutions, non-profits, foundations and other parties can do to protect the salt marsh.