South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative

A partnership to identify marsh conservation and strengthen communities in coastal Georgia.

The Georgia Conservancy, in partnership with the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI), is working to identify opportunities to protect and restore coastal marshland with historical, cultural, and/or spiritual significance to local communities.

SASMI’s goal is to ensure the long-term abundance, health, and resilience of the approximately 1 million acres of coastal marshland along the South Atlantic coastline. Protection and restoration of existing salt marshes and the conservation of land for marsh migration as sea levels rise will help us achieve this goal.

Why are coastal marshlands important?

SAlt Marsh Sunset on Sapelo Island by The Georgia Conservancy

Salt marshes, and the estuaries that support them, provide shelter, food, and nursery grounds for many of our commercial and recreational fish species.
Salt marshes and coastal wetlands are some of our most important natural landscapes for sequestering and storing carbon.
Coastal marshland, and the oyster reefs that populate them, enhance the water quality in our estuaries by filtering polluted stormwater runoff.
During storms, salt marshes absorb flood waters and wave energy, protecting coastlines from flooding, erosion, and storm surges, and decreasing property damage.
Coastal marshland provides an important place for people to recreate and find solitude. Our salt marshes include sites of cultural significance and comprise an interconnected network of waterways for boating, fishing, and swimming.

SASMI IN GEORGIA

Georgia boasts 368,000 acres of salt marsh (a sizeable portion of all the marshlands remaining on the eastern seaboard) across only 100 miles of coastline. Thanks to the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act, the existing marshlands in the state are protected from development threats, but there’s still much to be done to ensure that the existing and future marsh ecosystems stay healthy and intact. The SASMI coalition is working to identify opportunities to restore and protect existing coastal marshland and to conserve areas for future marsh migration.

Click here to learn more about Georgia’s Coastal Marshlands and what the future holds from our Georgia Now & Forever Storyboard

Coastal Marshland and Marsh Migration

Our coastal marshlands are facing an existential threat from encroaching development and rising seas. As sea levels rise, salt marshes will face a “sink or swim” outcome - they will either drown and die off or they will migrate to higher ground, provided there are available lands and no barriers to their movement. Conservation of lands adjacent to the marsh and removal of barriers, such as culverts and bulkheads, will be key in allowing this natural marsh migration process to take place.

SASMI Project Identification SURVEY

Do you have a potential project idea? Do you know an area that needs protection or restoration? Is your property experiencing erosion? Please share with us and let us know! We are looking to continue gathering information about potential Salt Marsh conservation, protection, and restoration projects along the Georgia Coast.

Click here to complete our project identification survey and share your ideas with the Georgia Conservancy SASMI team.