Yale University EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin Series 1997 Restoration of an Urban Salt Marsh: An Interdisciplinary Approach David G. Casagrande Follow this and additional works at: https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/yale_fes_bulletin Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Forest Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Casagrande, David G., "Restoration of an Urban Salt Marsh: An Interdisciplinary Approach" (1997). Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Bulletin Series. 100. https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/yale_fes_bulletin/100 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. It has been accepted for inclusion in Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Bulletin Series by an authorized administrator of EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bulletin Series Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Restoration of an Urban Salt Marsh: An Interdisciplinary Approach JOSEPH A. MILLER AND JANE COPPOCK, BULLETIN SERIES EDITORS DAVID G. CASAGRANDE, VOLUME EDITOR Yale University New Haven, C o n ne c t i c u t • 1997 The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin Series, begun in 1912, issues faculty and student monographs, symposia and workshop proceedings, and other reports on an occasional basis. To order copies of this or other Yale F&ES Bulletins, contact: F&ES Bulletin Series Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies 205 Prospect Street New Haven CT 06511 USA http://www.yale.edu/forestry/publications e-mail: [email protected] Volume Editor David G. Casagrande Bulletin Series Editors Joseph A. Miller and Jane Coppock Illustrations Doreen Gayer and Donna Gayer Design R. Richard Solaski Cover West Rock (1849), by Frederic Edwin Church, From the Collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut, John B. Talcott Fund, Photograph by E. Irving Blomstrann Production Yale University RIS Publishing Paper Mohawk Superfine Soft White satin, lb. text, recycled, acid free Partially funded by the Long Island Sound License Plate Program. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Additional Funding Connecticut Sea Grant College Program Norcross Wildlife Foundation Bulletin Number ISSN - CODEN BYSSDM © Yale University Permission is granted to reproduce this volume without prior written consent. Abstracts of this Bulletin and additional data are available on the Center for Coastal and Watershed Systems’ web page at http:// www.yale.edu/forestry/CCWS. Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4 PREFACE 5 INTRODUCTION 7 SECTION I: SOCIAL CONTEXT 12 The Full Circle: A Historical Context for Urban Salt Marsh Restoration 13 David Casagrande Contingent Valuation of an Urban Salt Marsh Restoration 41 Matthew Udziela and Lynne Bennett Values, Perceptions, and Restoration Goals 62 David Casagrande Predicting the Social Impacts of Restoration in an Urban Park 76 Christina Page SECTION II: ECOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL CONTEXT 102 The Hydrologic Structure and Function of the West River Marsh 103 Paul Barten and William Kenny Soils, Sediments, and Contamination 123 Richard Orson, William Price, and Sasha Weinstein Ecological Context and Vegetation Restoration 136 Richard Orson, Lauren Brown, and Penelope Sharp SECTION III: BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS 151 Benthic Invertebrates of the Lower West River 152 Carmela Cuomo and Gabriele Zinn Aquatic Insects of the West River and Salt Marshes of Connecticut 162 Raymond Pupedis Fish Communities as Indicators of Environmental Quality in the West River Watershed 178 Jon Moore, Arthur Lew, John Cunningham, and Michael Kachuba Amphibians and Reptiles of the Lower West River 197 William West and David Skelly Using Avian Communities to Evaluate Salt Marsh Restoration 204 Celia Lewis and David Casagrande Mammals of West River Memorial Park 237 Harvey Smith SECTION IV: SYNTHESIS 253 The Human Component of Urban Wetland Restoration 254 David Casagrande Acknowledgments An interdisciplinary, multi-institutional effort such as this owes thanks to a great number of people and organizations. Emly McDiarmid, Program Director, and Gaboury Benoit, Faculty Director, of the Center for Coastal and Watershed Systems at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES), and Jared Cohon, Dean of Yale F&ES, provided the institutional framework necessary for this project. For providing financial support, we are grateful to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Long Island Sound License Plate Program, the Connecticut Sea Grant College Program, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and Yale F&ES. For their institutional assistance, we are also grateful to the Cities of New Haven and West Haven and their mayors, John DeStefano and Richard Borer, the Connecticut Botanical Society, the Connecticut DEP, the Connecticut Entomological Society, the Connecticut Tennis Foundation, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U. S. National Park Service’s Olmsted Archives, the New Haven Land Trust, the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut, and the U. S. Forest Service. To those who assisted us in the field, generously shared their ideas, knowledge and advice, reviewed manuscripts, and supported our work in many other ways we thank: Diana Balmori, Michael Barker, Jennifer Beck, William Burch, Paul Capotosto, Guido, Dorothy, and Thomas Casagrande, Tim Clark, Heather Crawford, Christina Cromley, John Cunningham, Peter Davis, Jenny Dickson, Gordon Evans, Carolyn Falls, Lynne Favour, Joy Ford, Donna Gayer, Bob Gilmore, Karyn Gilvarg, Robert Gregan, Donna Hall, James Hill, William Jordan III, Carol Kasper, Pam Kressman, Carol Kinzler, Aimlee Laderman, Vin LaVorgna, Eric Lazo-Wasem, Michael Ludwig, William Martin, Nicole Morganthaler, Leonard Munstermann, Lara Nachiem, Alvin Novick, Kate O’Brien, Diane Palmeri, Christopher Percy, Jerry Poole, Noble Proctor, David Reher, Charles Remington, Arthur Rocque, Jr., Ron Rozsa, Pat Rubano, Oswald Schmitz, Tom Steinke, Mitchell Truwit, Frank Williams, and Roman Zajac. Joe Miller and Jane Coppock provided invaluable editorial support. Doreen and Donna Gayer illustrated this Bulletin. Russell Shaddox provided graphic and production assistance. David G. Casagrande Volume Editor Preface This is an exceptionally informative, innovative, and relevant Bulletin in a number of important respects, all captured by its care­ fully chosen title. Of critical and timely significance is its interdisci­ plinary approach. The restoration of damaged and disturbed environments represents more than a technical challenge. We cannot, of course, accomplish ecological restoration lacking basic biophysical knowledge and management tools. Yet, these technical and scientific issues represent only the beginning of the restoration task, typically omitting the necessity of precisely identifying what we are trying to accomplish, articulating a compelling vision of this goal, and develop­ ing a comprehensive methodology for achieving this end. In my opinion, one of the tragic These latter considerations inevitably require the additional assumptions of contemporary life is the knowledge and practice of a wide range of disciplines, including wide-spread belief that city people no economics, sociology, political science, and others. We must confront, longer require an abundant, diverse, and healthy natural environment to lead for example, the basic question of just what we are hoping to restore. lives rich in satisfaction and meaning. This latter consideration ultimately constitutes a question of values, a determination of what attributes of worth and benefit from nature we are striving to restore and render available to people and society. This issue becomes especially prominent when trying to restore damaged environments where large numbers of people live, most particularly in the modern city. Whenever large numbers of people are involved, we must address in specific, persuasive, and precise ways that goods and services are provided by restored environments, as well as the costs and sacrifices people may be required to make to achieve this end. We must also recognize that restoration cannot be accomplished lacking the understanding, appreciation, and support of local communities. At the least, this necessitates a deep and sym­ pathetic knowledge of the characteristics, interests, attitudes, and needs of varying human populations. An additionally important facet of this Bulletin is its focus on the modern city. In my opinion, one of the tragic assumptions of contemporary life is the widespread belief that city people no longer require an abundant, diverse, and healthy natural environ­ ment to lead lives rich in satisfaction and meaning. Most urban dwellers are repeatedly reminded of the presumed unimportance of nature in the urban context. Environmental considerations are routinely omitted from matters of urban building design, siting decisions, road building, industrial development, shopping center construction, and various other land and water planning and management choices. The average developer and politician typically views with indifference remaining pockets of open space, and often regards environmental expenditures as the lowest of budgetary priorities. Likewise, few city officials recognize