RAD Case Study: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area in tidal Maryland for waterfowl and other wildlife, has very low and flat topography, with elevations ranging from below mean sea level to 2.5 m above it. Sea-level rise in this region (3.44 mm/year) is almost twice the global average (1.8 mm/year) and has had catastrophic effects on the tidal saltmarsh. To resist change, managers and partners completed a 16-ha project to build elevation and enhance plant vigor and productivity. They have also nearly eradicated introduced nutria from the area, which has allowed for increases in native vegetation. Outside the refuge, a US\$475,000 demonstration project directs change, accelerating tidal marsh migration into low-lying farmlands using a low ground-pressure excavator to extend the head of a nearby tidal creek, which reduces inundation, introduces tidal exchange, and reinvigorates marsh vegetation.