The ambitious project, completed in early March 2003, has successfully restored tidal flows to Damde Meadows. Once a salt marsh, Damde Meadows was reclaimed for agricultural uses over 300 years ago by European settlers. The restoration effort involved the installation of a concrete box culvert in each of the two dikes near Martins Cove. Once in place, the culverts allowed tidal waters from Martins Cove to flood the 14-acre pond. Restoring daily tides to the brackish pond was the first step in converting the biologically impoverished environment of Damde Meadows to a thriving salt marsh ecosystem that is critical to preserving the coastal environment.

"Although no salt marsh has taken hold in the large pond, tidal inundation has significantly affected the growth of Phragmites, a highly invasive plant that had usurped much of the pond's botanical diversity," says Andy Walsh, Southeast Regional Ecologist at The Trustees of Reservations.  "In the years ahead, we'll see more changes at Damde Meadows as the system adjusts."  Walsh will continue to monitor environmental changes at the site for years to come.  The Trustees and its partners hope that the studies will inform future salt marsh restoration projects.