Pierce marsh restoration project

Most marsh creation/restoration projects to date within Galveston Bay consisted of simple revegetation of marsh elevation shorelines or beneficial uses of dredge material. The Pierce Marsh project applied a new technique to marsh restoration with the creation of levees or terraces from in-situ material and subsequent planting of the terraces with smooth cord grass, Spartina alterniflora. The Pierce Marsh project restored approximately 53 total acres of subsided marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation habitat in Basford Lake, Galveston County, Texas. This marsh restoration technique was adapted from a successful application at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.