Fertilizer costs are variable but probably no more than $100 to 

 $200 per hectare (1978 prices) the year of establishment for conven- 

 tional materials, including application. Slow-release materials are 

 considerably more expensive. 



Cost of temporary protection will vary widely with materials and 

 design. Slat-type sand fence is available at about $1.50 to $2.00 per 

 meter f.o.b. factory (1978). Posts and brace material will add about 

 0.50 to $0.75 per meter, and installation requires about 1 man-hour 

 per 10 meters. Scrap tires are often available for the hauling but 

 construction labor can be high. Sandbag devices will vary widely 

 with the least expensive designs at less than $10 per meter. 



6. Permits. 



Permit requirements to carry out marsh building activities vary 

 from state to state. Dredging, filling, and grading in preparation 

 for marsh planting will usually require one or more permits. Gather- 

 ing marsh plants or seeds from the wild and marsh planting may or may 

 not necessitate a permit. Information concerning permit requirements 

 and procedures may be obtained from the State Department of Natural 

 Resources, or its equivalent, in the state in which the site or activ- 

 ity occurs or from the appropriate U.S. Army Engineer District. 



Permit application and issue procedures are often time-consuming. 

 Permit applications should be initiated well in advance of marsh build- 

 ing activities. 



V. SUMMARY 



Coastal marshes are valuable as sources of energy, as nursery 

 grounds for fish and shellfish, for storm protection, for trapping 

 sediments, and for accumulating and recycling nutrients. 



Marsh planting and restoration is feasible using recently developed 

 techniques. The feasibility of marsh development and the type of marsh 

 at a given site are largely controlled by elevation, slope, degree of 

 exposure, and substrate. Marshes grow on a wide variety of soils. 

 Sands are the easiest to plant and peats are the most difficult. Plant 

 growth is usually best on silts and clays. 



The most useful low marsh (intertidall plants are smooth cordgrass 

 on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, smooth cordgrass plus red 

 and black mangroves in Florida, sedge and arrowgrass in the Pacific 

 Northwest, and Pacific cordgrass on the south Pacific coast. 



Important high marsh (irregularly flooded) species are saltmeadow 

 cordgrass, saltgrass, and needle rush on the Atlantic and Gulf of 

 Mexico coasts; these same species plus black and white mangroves in 



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