Within this study, I examine numerous factors relating to the desirability and potential for restoration of an impounded salt marsh system in Barrington, RI. Examination of sediment cores reveals that salt marsh vegetation existed in the site in the past. Analysis of aerial photographs demonstrates that the tidal restriction that destroyed the marsh structure was built between 1963 and 1965. The restriction has resulted in the impoundment of a brackish pond, which is surrounded by the invasive reed grass Phragmites australis. The cessation of tidal inundation, resultant fresher pond, and Phragmites proliferation have led to the complete loss of salt marsh characteristics and constituents in the site. Salt marsh functions and values are discussed versus those of the Phragmites-dominated system, and I conclude that there are local and global ecological arguments for restoring the salt marsh system in place of the current one.

Given this determination, I examine the potential for the restoration of the critical parameter of salt marsh ecosystems--tidal hydrology. Using a Total Survey Station (TSS), I mapped five transects of the bottom of the pond relative to salt marsh vegetation in the undisturbed tidal plain, and relative to the height of the tidal creek at high tide. Tidal wave heights were predicted for Warren, Rhode Island using the Harbormaster program. These graphs, in combination with findings from a past study which I participated in, were used to extrapolate the relevance of water-surface height at the time of my measurements--a high neap tide to predicted tidal heights in the Cove over time. I have found that the pond topography is sufficiently low that it would most likely be regularly flooded if the restriction were removed and tidal inundation restored. Based on the potential for restoration of tidal hydrology, and the status of the site as a town owned system, I conclude that this impounded salt marsh is a good candidate for the restoration program that the town of Barrington is currently initiating.