The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative Implementation Plan
This month, Georgia Conservancy is introducing the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI) Implementation Plan for Georgia. The Georgia SASMI Plan has the potential to influence land conservation and restoration along Georgia’s coast – so naturally, we want to hear what you think!
From now through February 28, please share with us your thoughts on the Plan.
Read the Georgia SASMI Implementation Plan
The state of Georgia has an estimated 368,000 acres of salt marsh across our coastline, which makes up more than a third of the connected marsh habitat corridor along the coast of the southeastern United States. However, marsh habitats in Georgia are facing severe threats of drowning due to sea level rise.
The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI) is a voluntary coalition that aims to bring together government agencies, members of academia, community leaders, and non-governmental organizations to: Protect and restore the health and functions of existing salt marshes, and conserve marsh migration corridors and remove or retrofit barriers to ensure salt marshes can shift as sea levels rise.
All across the state of Georgia, people are invested in the protection, restoration, and conservation of salt marsh ecosystems. In the Georgia SASMI Implementation Plan, we consolidate the efforts and knowledge of communities, field experts, and stakeholders to guide salt marsh protection strategies with recommended actions and strategies. Models projecting sea level rise across Georgia’s coast are clear: marshes need conserved areas in which they can migrate.
In this plan, we identify many of the key marsh migration areas that should be prioritized for conservation and recommend nature-based practices that facilitate marsh migration. By coordinating and listening to community and stakeholder voices, we also identify current programs and partners addressing salt marsh issues across the state and recommend specific actions to fill gaps that prevent achieving SASMI goals in Georgia. By utilizing nature-based practices and enacting recommended strategies and programs, we can work together to “Marsh Forward” in Georgia and protect, restore and conserve the benefits of these ecosystems for centuries.
Georgia Conservancy serves as the lead for SASMI in Georgia, and as such, is responsible for facilitating the GA SASMI Implementation Team, working collaboratively with the SASMI Partnership Council and other SASMI member states, and hosting the GA SASMI Implementation Workplan.
Click here to learn more about Georgia Conservancy’s SASMI efforts.