By Christina Schechtman

You wouldn’t guess by looking at it, but Harpswell’s Long Marsh is in the midst of a long recovery. On its surface, it reflects a peaceful coastal landscape. Host to gentle grasses, wading wildlife and water rising and falling twice each day through its narrow channels. The steady rhythm of the saltwater being brought in and ushered out is the heartbeat of the marsh –what keeps it alive. For countless marshes along the Maine Coast like Long Marsh, this natural flow was disrupted long ago. Now, a collaborative restoration effort is working to bring it back.

Alongside Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT), fellow environmental stewards Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) and Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP) will work together to restore Long Marsh to its natural capacity. MCHT is the recipient of the grant supporting this work and will handle the bulk of the project management and coordination efforts. CBEP is providing technical assistance, relaying important contextual data and will conduct pre- and post-monitoring of the marsh. Much of the marsh itself is protected through HHLT preserves and conservation easements, making long-term restoration possible. HHLT will also support the project through stakeholder engagement and long-term project management. “These are local issues, and they need a local partner,” says Tatia Bauer, the Marsh Restoration Program Manager at MCHT.  “Organizations like HHLT help ensure the project reflects local priorities and feels right for the community,” she explains.

This collaborative team understands the importance of preserving and enhancing tidal marshes as they are some of the most integral and productive ecosystems on Earth. Each marsh provides critical support to their coastal networks and communities. They bolster wildlife and commercial industries – with about two-thirds of fishery species spending some part of their lifecycle there. They also play a significant role in climate resilience, says Bauer. “They’re really our first line of protection from sea level rise in a lot of ways. They protect infrastructure, absorb storm surge and floodwaters, and filter nutrients as the water moves,” she explains. But all these benefits depend on a single critical factor: healthy tidal flow.

Like many of Maine’s marshes, Long Marsh was modified long ago to support local agriculture. As early as the 1600s, settlers built dikes to block tides, dug large ditches and created berms to control water flow, and constructed crossings to move people and goods across the marsh. All of these adaptations had lasting consequences. Over time, the restriction of the tidal flow altered the marsh’s hydrology. Native plant growth declined, salinity was reduced, and water became trapped in soggy, vegetation-free “dead zones.” What was once a flourishing system, in many areas, has become stuck.

“Hydrological modifications like created berms and ditch networks have been failing over time, leading to standing water and subsidence,” Bauer says. And as sea levels rise, while marshes lose elevation and the capacity to build, there’s a critical point where marshes can’t keep up. “We want to intervene before that point so marshes can resume natural building processes,” she continues.

“This will be a multi-year process, and we are excited to see the restoration of natural water flow throughout the marsh and revegetation of where water has been trapped,” said Emma Balazs, Lands and Stewardship Director at HHLT. “Through restoration projects like this that reestablish essential ecological processes, we are improving the functionality of marshes and maximizing their environmental benefits.”

This is not the first time Long Marsh has been the subject of a restoration project. In 2014, an undersized culvert was replaced which allowed tides to flow more freely into the marsh – and the positive impacts were considerable. Saltwater was able to reach further inland, native vegetation started to return and wildlife reappeared in larger numbers. While this work was promising, it revealed a lingering problem.

An old roadbed crossing, or ford, still cuts across the tidal creek. This pile of rocks now acts like a partial dam, allowing water to flow in during high tide but slowing its movement as the tide recedes. This seemingly small imbalance has significant consequences. It limits the movement of sediment, traps water, reduces salinity levels, and encourages a foothold for invasive species. Put simply, due to this ford, the marsh cannot fully function as it should. The current collaborative restoration project will focus on addressing that missing piece – reestablishing full tidal exchange and creating conditions for the marsh to thrive again.

This kind of restoration is not a quick fix; it’s a long process. Over time, restoration partners hope to see a marsh that can sustain itself, adapting naturally to rising sea levels. A marsh made stronger by healthier vegetation, improved water flow, and fewer invasive species.

“The long-term goal is more natural hydrology and a marsh that is able to keep up with sea-level rise,” says Balazs. And as climate change accelerates and pressures increase, the urgency of this work is clear.

“The time to act is now,” Bauer emphasizes. “Acting now gives marshes the best chance to adapt and persist into the future.”

Want to find out more? Check out HHLT’s website here with a link to more resources.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under cooperative agreement 84044301 to Restore America’s Estuaries. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency.