Tidal marshes provide key ecosystem services, but they are threatened by sea level rise. For these ecosystems to survive, it will require active management to increase tidal marsh resilience. Thin-layer placement (TLP), an emergent adaptation strategy that mimics natural sediment deposition processes, is one of the only viable options to protect tidal marshes in their current footprint. To improve the success of thin-layer placement projects, a collaborative research team at the Narragansett Bay and Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserves led coordinated restoration experiments at eight Reserves on the US East and West coasts to test TLP across diverse marsh plant communities, and produced guidance and recommendations for TLP use.

About this resource

End user engagement was central to this collaborative research project. The project established an advisory committee that was heavily involved at all stages, from the development of an experimental design to the production of final products.

This Advisory Committee Charter defines the roles and responsibilities of the committee and provides a procedural guide for its activities. It was developed based on guidance and a template from the former Collaborative Project Toolkit (now the Guide to Collaborative Science) and offers an example for those developing other collaborative research projects. Related resources include a Collaboration Charter Template (Word) and Team Charter Template (Word).