Salt marshes are composed of a variety of plants including rushes, sedges and grasses. People can benefit from natural salt marshes in several ways. Salt marshes provide protected nursery areas for juvenile fishes, shellfish, crabs and shrimp. These animals are savored as seafood delights when they grow larger and are caught by fisherman, thereby providing food and a source of income for people. Numerous commercially important fish species spend the early part of their lives in salt marshes.
Salt marshes provide a home for other animals such as birds, small mammals and turtles.
Many people visit salt marshes simply to watch birds and enjoy nature's beauty. The extensive root systems of salt marsh plants enable them to withstand strong winds, waves and flooding from storms, and act as natural buffers against storm damage to upland development. Salt marshes also act as filters. Tidal creeks meander through the marshes transporting valuable nutrients to marsh and estuary inhabitants. Pollutants from upland activities flow through the marsh and may be trapped by marsh vegetation and sediments, reducing the pollutant load entering estuaries.