This dataset shows the general extent of the report, "100 Years of Estuarine Marsh Trends in Massachusetts (1893 to 1995): Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands," by Bruce K. Carlisle, Ralph W. Tiner, Marc Carullo, Irene K. Huber, Todd Nuerminger, Craig Polzen, and Meaghan Shaffer. The paper, published in February 2006, was a cooperative report by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Massachusetts.
The following is an excerpt from the report's executive summary:
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Massachusetts Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences conducted an investigation of trends—losses, gains, and changes—of tidal emergent and shrub-scrub wetlands, or "estuarine marshes," for selected study areas in Massachusetts. The effective dates for the investigation were 1893, 1952, 1971, and 1995. The study area for this investigation included Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands. This investigation is the first of a three-part series that will provide a comprehensive examination of estuarine marsh trends for all of Massachusetts since the late 1800s.