Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief, Proj MB 032: Resilience of the Tidal Marsh Bird Community

University of ME shall provide financial assistance to 1) survey Salt Marsh Integrity Assessment Points on National Wildlife Refuges across the Northeast Region that are designed to be surveyed during the summers of 2015 and 2016, 2) assess the biological effectiveness of recovery actions by comparing pre and post surveys at sites where restoration has occurred on federal lands to appropriate reference sites, 3) assess demographic impacts of the hurricane and predict the long-term projected impacts of future storms on the resilience of Willets, Clapper Rails, Seaside Sparrows, and Saltmarsh Sparrows, and integrate these estimates into population viability analyses for regional conservation planning for Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows, and 4) develop a multi-metric tool to evaluate the conservation value of tidal marshes and the cost effectiveness of alternative restoration approaches.