This project synthesized Sentinel Site data for four New England National Estuarine Research Reserves (Great Bay, Narragansett, Waquoit Bay, and Wells), which have been individually monitoring salt marsh vegetation and elevation changes since at least 2011. The project team developed statistics-ready data packages linking vegetation change with surface elevation and other data, including output from an inundation tool. This project equipped New England reserves and coastal managers with new information to inform and improve the management, protection, and restoration of salt marshes. It produced an improved Sentinel Site monitoring protocol and established a methodology for analysis of marsh condition that can be used across the reserve system and by coastal managers nationwide. This catalyst project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to advance collaborative science. It did not produce any new data.

This collaborative research project conducted extensive field work on the South Carolina coast. This project monitored and evaluated the effectiveness of a variety of living shoreline techniques under different coastal environmental conditions. Three datasets were generated by the project: (1)Monitoring data for pre-existing oyster-based shoreline sites. This dataset includes monitoring results from 62 pre-existing living shoreline projects that used different techniques to support the development of oyster reefs. The reefs were distributed across 29 sites of varying shoreline geomorphologies, salinities, and sediment types, and were monitored for a variety of site characteristics and performance metrics. (2)Performance data for new experimental shoreline sites. This dataset includes pre-installation and post-installation monitoring data for 16 experimental living shoreline sites spread along the South Carolina coast. Monitoring encompassed physical attributes of the bank and sediment, biological attributes of the adjacent marsh and the condition of the treatment material over time. (3)Spatial and elevation geodatabase for living shoreline sites. This geodatabase was designed to help analyze changes in position and elevation of key features around living shorelines to help determine the relative success of various types of living shoreline materials. Data included horizontal position and elevation data at specific locations at living shoreline installation at various times.

Under the National Fish Habitat Partnership, scientists at the NEFSC, NWFSC, and Silver Spring Headquarters are compiling information on the nation's estuarine and coastal habitats and the species they support in order to assess their current potential for restoration and protection. National project headed up by F/ST. Jihong Dai documents InPort metadata. Geographic data on the nation's coasts and estuaries.

Across all five New England reserves, this project team will deploy a novel sensor package to measure greenhouse gases and develop a salt marsh greenhouse gas monitoring protocol for reserves and other practitioners to enhance understanding of salt marsh carbon cycling.

A team of collaborators from the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association, and University of California-Davis are exploring the environmental consequences of managing the opening and closing of lagoon mouths. The project approach includes the following elements: Collaboration with Users: The project team will regularly engage members of the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, which coordinates and funds restoration projects throughout the region. Data Synthesis: Long-term water quality and vegetation data will be analyzed from three estuary systems: San Diego Bay, Los Peasquitos Lagoon, and Tijuana Estuary. The team will look at how mouth closures influence factors such as dissolved oxygen and salinity, which in turn affect plants and animals. Literature Review: The project team will pull together relevant scientific articles and reports to guide its interpretation of monitoring data and development of management recommendations. This science transfer project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to promote the use of science. It did not produce any new data.

Blue carbon storage – carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands – can help coastal managers and policymakers achieve broader wetlands management, restoration, and conservation goals, in part by securing payment for carbon credits. Despite considerable interest in bringing wetland restoration projects to market, the transaction costs related to quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon storage in restored marsh has been a significant limiting factor to realizing these projects. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve has been at the forefront of blue carbon research and end user engagement. Building on the efforts of a previous project, Bringing Wetlands to Market in Massachusetts, this project developed a verified and generalized model that can be used across New England and the mid-Atlantic East Coast to assess and predict greenhouse gas fluxes and potential wetland carbon across a wide environmental gradient using a small set of readily available data. Using this model, the project conducted a first-of-its-kind market feasibility assessment for the Herring River Restoration Project, one of the largest potential wetland restoration projects in New England. The project team developed targeted tools and education programs for coastal managers, decision makers, and teachers. These efforts have built an understanding of blue carbon and the capacity to integrate blue carbon considerations into restoration and management decisions.

Through this project, results will be transferred to a variety of end users and products and activities will be developed with end user feedback. Products include a publication in a high impact scientific journal, a short user-friendly summary of this publication, well-designed PowerPoint presentations for a variety of audiences, and a "do it yourself" tool so others can apply the novel marsh assessment approach to additional marshes. The marsh index scores will also be linked directly to recommended coastal adaptation strategies, thereby meeting a frequently stated need to synthesize data on wetland resilience in a way that is transparent, clear, and accessible to coastal managers. This science transfer project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to promote the use of science. It did not produce any new data.

To build communication, coordination, and information sharing among scientists and restoration practitioners, this project established a coastwide network from Baja California to British Columbia, the Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative. The project team synthesized past restoration projects, developed an experimental design for future research, and created educational and outreach materials that convey the importance of native oyster restoration on the Pacific coast. These efforts engaged communities in Olympia oyster restoration, provided tools to enhance future restoration outcomes, and strengthened connections among researchers and practitioners to support ongoing collaboration. This catalyst project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to advance collaborative science. It did not produce any new data.

This project is providing a direct assessment of the ecological effects of multiple-use zoning on inshore reefs of the GBRMP. Underwater visual census (UVC) monitoring of fish and benthic communities is being carried out at 50 no-take marine reserve (green zone) sites and at 50 sites that have remained open to fishing within the Palm, Magnetic, Whitsunday and Keppel Island groups. Long-term monitoring surveys are providing information on:,

Understanding why estuarine habitat restoration is viewed as successful or not is critical for evaluating completed projects and garnering support for future projects. Particularly important, and often overlooked, are the perceptions of partners and the surrounding community which play an integral role in shaping the future of coastal habitats. Restoration metrics rarely include human dimensions even though community support for restoration can promote or thwart potential projects and the long-term success of completed projects. Working with the South Slough NERR, this catalyst project worked to more fully account for and understand the impacts of estuarine habitat restoration by developing social metrics for restoration success and linking them to ecological monitoring metrics. Using South Slough NERR, The Wetlands Conservancy, and other restoration projects in Oregon as case studies, the project involved a two-pronged approach to data collection: 1) synthesis of existing and newly collected ecological data from nine salt marsh restoration projects to derive commonly used ecological metrics and 2) focus groups in three Oregon locations (South Slough, Alsea, and Yaquina) to understand public perceptions about marshes. The team then connected the social and ecological datasets conceptually to create a matrix linking the datasets and indicating mismatches between ecological data and social values. Based on these steps, the team was able to provide recommendations to help improve restoration design and implementation, including more inclusive and effective communications surrounding estuarine restoration.