MAINE MONITOR • September 19, 2025
On a humid August morning, the Webhannet salt marsh in Wells was a sea of tousled, neon-green grass. But at the marsh’s northern edge, one spot stood out — about two acres of glittering white sand with only a few plants breaking through. Late last winter, excavators spread sand dredged from the nearby harbor there, in a bid to save the sinking marsh and protect the birds that rely on it. The marsh is a test site for a type of restoration never before tried in Maine, known as the “beneficial use of dredged materials.” The method involves spreading a thin layer of sand and sediment to raise the marsh surface, helping it better withstand sea level rise and support birds like the endangered saltmarsh sparrow and black ducks. At this site, crews used 1,000 cubic yards of sand to raise the elevation by 3 to 6 inches.