Keeping a healthy, diverse, vegetated upland buffer adjacent to a coastal wetland can lessen erosion and protect property. Without a buffer, development disturbs the fringing marsh boundary. Fertilizer usage can degrade marsh vegetation and allow colonization by invasive species. If you live on or near a coastal wetland, try to maintain, to the maximum width practicable, a naturally vegetated, woody upland buffer between the “developed” (planted lawn or infrastructure) portion of your property, and adjacent coastal wetlands. Other things you can do include:

• Enhance the width of existing buffers with native vegetation;
• Minimize disturbances adjacent to coastal wetlands;
• Limit planting and maintenance of lawns and subsequent usage of nitrogen-rich fertilizers;
• Remove invasive species within the buffer, especially common reed (Phragmites australis);
• Limit the amount of unnatural freshwater runoff directed into coastal wetlands from the adjacent uplands.

A great general resource for buffer management is from the Save the Bay Narragansett Bay Backyards on the Bay Yard Care Guide for the Coastal Homeowner.

Case Study:
Marsh Buffer