BACKYARDS ON THE BAY  A yard care guide for the coastal homeowner

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• TABLE OF CONTENTS
  
• INTRODUCTION
  

• SECTION 1: Diagram of good vs. bad backyard on the bay

• SECTION 1A: Salt Marsh Diagram

• SECTION 2: Evaluation of your yard's impact on the Bay.

• SECTION 3: Bay friendly yard care tips

• SECTION 4: Coastal Erosion and Seawalls

• SECTION 5: Septic Systems

• SECTION 6: How to create a buffer of Native Plants

• SECTION 7: How to determine if you need a permit

• APPENDIX 1: Coastal Buffer
  Site Plan
• APPENDIX 2: 
  Native Plant List
• APPENDIX 3: Invasive Plants
• APPENDIX 4: Planting Guidelines
• APPENDIX 5: Sources of Native Plants
• APPENDIX 6: Technical Assistance
• APPENDIX 7: References and Sources of Information

The diagram above shows a cross section of a healthy salt marsh and highlights the common plants found in each section of the salt marsh. 

The diagram outlines the different sections of a salt marsh including the low marsh, the high marsh and the upper marsh.

• The low marsh is flooded daily by two tides and is dominated by the hardy salt water cordgrass.

• The high marsh is the part of the marsh that is periodically flooded during higher tides. Plants in the high marsh include salt marsh hay (which gives the high marsh a defining "cow licked" appearance), black grass, pickleweed and spike grass.

• The upper marsh is the highest portion of the marsh and is flooded only during moon tides and storms. Plants in this area include seaside goldenrod, high tide bush, and Phragmites. The plants in the upper marsh are often cut unknowingly by homeowners. These plants can tolerate occasional flooding of saltwater and are more suited to the coastal environment than most landscape plants.

• The upland edge of a salt marsh is home to plants (such as bayberry), which are known as coastal buffer plants and can tolerate occasional salt spray. These plants provide an important buffer between your managed landscape and the Bay. The coastal buffer plants are listed in detail in Appendix 2. Many of these native shrubs can be purchased at local nurseries (listed in Appendix 5) and planted adjacent to a salt marsh to help reestablish a buffer.

Salt marshes form the base of Narragansett Bay’s intricate food web and are a nursery and spawning area for hundreds of animals in the Bay and other Rhode Island coastal waters. Salt marshes shield and protect coastal shorelines from storms by reducing the force of waves and by holding sediment in place with their strong root systems. Salt marshes can improve water quality by filtering out sediments, nutrients and other pollutants.

Unfortunately, it is estimated that fifty percent of our salt marshes over the past two hundred years have been destroyed and many of our remaining marshes are affected by human activities (RI Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, 1992)

Many of the Bay’s remaining salt marshes are small in acreage and ­ when taken out of context ­ seem insignificant. However, even narrow salt marshes that fringe the shoreline, provide vital habitat for fish and wildlife. Small alterations to our remaining salt marshes have cumulative effects that degrade and threaten these remaining marshes.

Based on an assessment of Narragansett Bay’s salt marshes conducted by Save The Bay volunteers, nearly 30 percent of Narragansett Bay’s marshes have inadequate or no natural buffer from surrounding land uses such as lawns, parking lots and roads. Approximately 58 percent of the Bay’s marshes suffer from polluted discharges from storm drains or road runoff.

Salt Marshes: Breadbaskets of the Sea

| TABLE OF CONTENTS | INTRODUCTION | SECTION 1 | SECTION 2 | SECTION 3 | SECTION 4 | SECTION 5 | SECTION 6 |
SECTION 7 | APPENDIX 1 | APPENDIX 2 | APPENDIX 3 | APPENDIX 4 | APPENDIX 5 | APPENDIX 6 | APPENDIX 7 |