Over a period of 4 weekend days, two in May and two in June, the American Littoral Society's Northeast Chapter was able to bring together over 250 volunteers who were willing to join in on the Ruler's Bar segment of the Marsh Restoration Initiative. The volunteers ranged from individuals who had happened upon the opportunity by chance, to families who wanted

(Church of God members plant marsh grass on Ruler's Bar)

 to be part of a greater good, to organizational groups like  the Church of God and NYC Audubon who were simply able to see the marshes in Jamaica Bay as the vital structures and ecosystems that they are.

^{(A dock carrying plants is towed to the island)}

  It is estimated that approximately 1,400 acresof tidal salt marsh have been lost from Jamaica

^{(Volunteers pull themselves to shore)}                        Bay's Marsh Islands since 1924. This habit loss is extremely detrimental to the 80 species of fin fish, 330 species of nesting and migrating birds, and the aquatic and terrestrial organisms that depend on the bay for survival. The astounding deterioration, as well as the continuous loss of around 40 acres

 of marsh a year, were the two main issues fueling the Littoral Society's push to begin the Initiative, which began mid-summer of last year.

   In total, the volunteers who came out for the weekends planted over 22,000 spartina alterniflora marsh grass plugs, and made our Marsh Restoration Initiative a tangible goal. We couldn't have made this possible without them.                                                                 ^{(Bird's-eye view of Jamaica Bay with the help of a kite,photo by Public Laboratory)}