Sunken Meadow Restoration Gains Traction with $1.5 Million Award

(December 3, 2025) – The Nationwide Fish and Wildlife Service introduced almost $12 million in grants from the Lengthy Island Sound Futures Fund (Futures Fund) to organizations and native governments to enhance the well being of Lengthy Island Sound and its wildlife populations. Audubon is proud to be the recipient of $1.5 million to revive fourteen acres of salt marsh at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, New York.

The award will allow Audubon to launch “Part 1” of the challenge, shifting sediment from the creek channels and inserting it on the marsh platform to lift elevation, restoring 14 acres of salt marsh (4 acres of excessive marsh and 10 acres of low marsh). These efforts will create a extra resilient marsh that improves essential habitat for nesting Saltmarsh Sparrows, and protects the group within the face of sea stage rise.

The Saltmarsh Sparrow is the canary within the coal mine guiding this work. A small, rust-colored chicken with a vivid orange-buff face, the Saltmarsh Sparrow’s inhabitants has declined precipitously and the species is prone to extinction. This drastic decline directs us to revive the marsh ecosystems they depend on. 

Saltmarsh Sparrows nest a number of inches above the excessive tide line on Saltmeadow Cordgrass (S. patens). Nesting within the excessive marsh supplies safety from predators, but when the excessive marsh is not truly excessive sufficient, then the nests -and chicks – can get washed out and drown.

This challenge addresses lingering impacts of 60+ years of severely restricted tidal circulation within the creek that was alleviated by a dam failure throughout Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Whereas the restored tidal circulation has enormously improved ecosystem perform of the positioning, the marsh platform is low within the tidal body and invasive frequent reed (Phragmites australis) stays prevalent alongside the marsh inside. As well as, there was a drastic conversion of marsh to mudflat because the Nineteen Fifties.

In the end, this challenge will deal with these points and enhance resilience to sea stage rise by restoring ~70 acres of tidal marsh habitat. Marsh habitat will likely be restored utilizing a collection of strategies together with elevation enhancement (Part 1), hydrological restore (Part 2), and invasive species management (Part 3).

Audubon is working with Anchor QEA and companions New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Save the Sound, and the New York Pure Heritage Program to finish closing designs (anticipated December 31, 2025) and can start allowing course of in early 2026.

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About Audubon

The Nationwide Audubon Society is a number one nonprofit conservation group with 120 years of science-based, community-driven affect, devoted to defending birds and the locations they want, right this moment and tomorrow. Birds are highly effective indicators of our planet’s well being, performing as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and encourage motion. Audubon works throughout the Western Hemisphere, pushed by the understanding that what is sweet for birds is sweet for the planet. Via a collaborative, bipartisan method throughout habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives significant and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 employees and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever-growing power dedicated to making sure a greater planet for each birds and folks for generations to come back.