US coastal restoration projects revive seagrass beds and marshlands

Researchers restored a large seagrass meadow off Virginia by dispersing 70 million seeds each year, expanding the habitat to about 9,000 acres. The effort, led by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, has attracted fish, crustaceans and other marine life, while also stabilising the seabed, filtering water and sequestering carbon.

In a separate project on the Wicomico River in Maryland, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped 127,000 cubic metres of sand into a tidal marsh, raising the ground by roughly 30 cm. The new elevation allowed the planting of salt‑tolerant vegetation, creating fresh breeding and foraging habitat for marsh‑dependent birds. The ecological effects of both restorations will be monitored over the coming years.