Russ Hopping, Lead Coastal Ecologist at The Trustees of the Reservations will present a talk on the importance of the Great Marsh ecosystem as well as the efforts to restore 5000+ acres of salt marsh over the next ten years and the pilot efforts at Old Town Hill.   

“The Trustees of Reservations’ Saving the Great Marsh Project is the largest ecological restoration project on the coast in the 131-year history of the organization. The project seeks to restore the health of depleted salt marsh and to strengthen its ability to serve as a critical buffer against the effects of climate change.

“Located on the North Shore and stretching from Salisbury to Gloucester, the 20,000-acre Great Marsh is the largest continuous salt marsh in New England, providing ecological, economic, recreational, and cultural value to millions of Massachusetts residents and visitors. It is a state-designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern.”

Russ is the Lead Coastal Ecologist for The Trustees of Reservations. He has a master’s degree in Environmental Biology from Antioch New England Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic. He has worked for The Trustees since 1997, overseeing the stewardship of ecological resources at The Trustees’ more than 26,000 acres. Russ has more than 20 years of experience restoring and managing natural habitats and resources including coastal shorebird populations on barrier beaches, fire-adapted habitats, grasslands, rare species habitat and control of invasive species.