Removing the lead-contaminated soils at the Leadmills in 2011 and Marblehead and Salem coming together to create the Lead Mills Conservation Area along the Forest River and inner Salem Harbor were huge accomplishments. Because the cleanup extended into the intertidal zone, the fringing salt marsh was destroyed and then replanted. Sadly, the fringing marsh has been slow to return. One area did get established but has been hindered by the plastic netting used to hold the grass plugs in place fourteen years ago. This past July, Salem Sound Coastwatch interns, Ayushi Naik and Henry Hirsch, along with Barbara Warren carefully pulled the plastic netting off the marsh grasses. Five compactor trash bags were filled with the plastic. Hopefully, their root systems (rhizomes) will continue to expand along the shoreline. The marsh grass now has a better chance of doing this.
We carefully cut the netting to release the plants. Henry and Ayushi work together to gently peel back the netting to release the grass.
Job well done and a good lesson why non-biodegradable materials should not be used in habitat restorations.