Study Shows Even Small Developments Near Wetlands Affect Wildlife

When lawns, roads and buildings begin moving closer to tidal marshes, it means many of the birds living in those areas will soon be moving out.

New research, which examined marshes from the mouth of the Chesapeake to the head of the Bay, revealed a clear link between even small levels of development in areas surrounding tidal wetlands and the loss of many marsh-dwelling birds.  The study found that when as little as 14 percent of the land within a 500-meter buffer around a marsh was developed—with anything from a lawn to a parking lot—the index significantly dropped. The same was true if 25 percent of the land was developed within 1,000 meters of the marsh.

Chesapeake Bay Journal, December 2004 http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2429