INTEGRATED MARSH MANAGEMENT AT WERTHEIM NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK.

Ilia Rochlin¹, Mary-Jane James-Pirri², Susan Adamowicz³, Mary Dempsey4, Tom Iwanejko¹, and Dominick Ninivaggi¹

¹Division of Vector Control, Suffolk County DPW, Yaphank, NY 11980

²Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, 02882

³Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME 04090;

⁴Suffolk County Department of Environment and Energy, Yaphank, NY 11980.

ABSTRACT

Suffolk County, in cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, implemented an Integrated Marsh Management (IMM) project at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley, Long Island, NY. This was a demonstration project to provide a proof of concept for IMM in Suffolk County’s microtidal environment. The project was designed to rehabilitate 80 acres of ditched salt marsh for multiple objectives, combining improved management of the marsh habitat and reduced mosquito production. The project design primarily involved elimination of ditches and replacing them with tidal channels and ponds designed to more closely resemble natural marsh habitats. A Before After Control Impact (BACI) study design allowed analysis of results for mosquitoes, vegetation, nekton and migratory birds. Mosquito production was reduced, as was larvicide use. Phragmites cover was reduced. Nekton abundance and diversity improved, as did use of the marsh by waterfowl and shorebirds. The results indicate IMM is a viable option for Suffolk County salt marshes, and have implications for cooperative design, implementation and evaluation of IMM projects.