Marsh Mania: Community-Based Habitat Restoration for Galveston Bay

Marsh Mania is an annual restoration and education event held at several sites around Galveston Bay. The event provides a focal point for restoration efforts by involving national and local partners, and by providing citizens with an opportunity to learn about the functions and values of marshes while creating habitat within their own community. Restoration sites and strategies are selected from the Habitat Conservation Blueprint, by a technical advisory team. Each year, hundreds of volunteers participate in the restoration of several acres of estuarine habitat. The success of Marsh Mania demonstrates that community-based planting events are an effective way to implement the habitat restoration and public participation and education goals of the Galveston Bay Plan.