The Great Marsh is the largest salt marsh in New England, encompassing more than 25,000 acres of coastal wetlands from Gloucester to New Hampshire, including the meandering seven-mile Castle’s Neck River. Its grasslands, tidal creeks, and estuaries support many species of fish, insects, shellfish, amphibians, mammals, and breeding and migratory birds, and its natural abundance has led to state designation as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and international recognition as an Important Bird Area. The marsh has long been essential to human life in the region, and salt marsh haying, farming, fishing, shipbuilding, recreational tourism, and the arts remain important to the local economy and culture. These wetlands also preserve water quality, filter stormwater pollutants, and help prevent storm damage for coastal communities. The Great Marsh remains relatively unspoiled in part because much of its wetlands and surrounding uplands are protected as conservation land. Since 1961, Essex County Greenbelt and its conservation partners have protected several thousand acres within the Great Marsh, and since the mid-1990s the Great Marsh Coalition has worked to raise awareness and coordinate conservation strategies.

Photo: Marc Posner

Photo: Marc Posner

Photo: Marc Posner

Essex, Massachusetts · USA