January’s completion of the Cousins River Fields and Marsh project in Yarmouth, a $2.19 million effort that was years in the making, exemplifies the desirability of protecting Maine’s tidal wetlands.

The Cousins River marsh, like other salt marshes along the southwest coast, provides important habitat for many of the fish and shellfish that support Maine’s fisheries. Marshes also soften storm surge and buffer against sea level rise. They filter pollutants, making water cleaner and store carbon, preventing greenhouse gases from escaping to the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

Maine has about 30,000 acres of salt marsh, including vast expanses of salt-tolerant grasses such as those found in Scarborough Marsh and the 11 divisions of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge strung between Kittery and Cape Elizabeth. Some marshes have formed miles inland where tides force water upriver, while others nestle in protected coves where brooks mix with sea water to create small yet richly productive ecosystems.

Salt marshes often go by another name: estuary. The brackish waters where rivers meet the sea were celebrated this past weekend through the #iheartestuaries social media campaign. Across the country, supporters of 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves (including Wells) and 28 National Estuary Programs (including Casco Bay) hearted a habitat by waxing sentimental over mudminnows, egrets, snails and eels.

Public access to the Cousins River salt marsh will begin later this year. To explore an estuary in the meantime, find another protected place where lifestyles are defined by saltwater ebb and flow.

Scott Richardson
Berwick

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