The Saltmarsh Creation Handbook: A Project Manager’s Guide to the Creation of Saltmarsh and Intertidal Mudflat

Excellent new RSPB handbook, jointly published with the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). From the publisher’s announcement: The handbook presents practical guidance on the restoration and creation of coastal saltmarsh and associated intertidal mudflat to help those involved in the planning and delivery of such schemes successfully realise their goals. Following an introductory overview, the handbook covers issues arising in the project-planning phase. Site selection, scheme design, formulation of management plans, funding considerations, the current legal and planning context, the regulatory framework and the process of environmental impact assessment are addressed The handbook then describes the practical techniques available to restore and create saltmarsh. It covers the engineering operations necessary to produce suitable site conditions and the establishment techniques employed to optimise/enhance site development. The case studies presented reflect the evolution of the approach from simple, small-scale, single function schemes to sophisticated, large-scale, multiple-function projects and illustrate how the practical techniques described have been applied to site-specific circumstances. Technical terminology has been kept to a minimum to make the text accessible to the widest possible audience. Plates and figures have been widely used to illustrate the subject matter and extensive reference has been made to other publications in the field, relevant recent and on-going research projects and other sources of useful information.