When Johanna DeGroff landed a 13-pound redfish in Florida's Indian River Lagoon, it had a certain serendipitous meaning. As the acting director for the FishAmerica Foundation (FAF), she coordinates the distribution of funds to scores of fishery habitat restoration projects across the country. One such effort, the replanting of a mangrove habitat, lay only a few yards away.

Did that redfish benefit from the new habitat? Was it there because of a reestablished food chain? It would certainly be hard to say for sure, but it's at least likely.

It's also likely that if you fish the inshore waters about anywhere along the Atlantic or Gulf coasts you've benefited from one of these citizen-driven projects. That's because there's an army of anglers and nature lovers alike out there working "in the mud" to improve coastal habitats and coastal fishing. They can be seen planting marsh grass, building oyster bars, repairing fish ladders, and teaching the public about the importance of protecting these fragile marine ecosystems.

Projects in the northeast states often involve riparian repairs to restore spawning habitat for anadromous species. For instance in Maine, the Sunkhaze Stream Chapter of Trout Unlimited, with support from FAF, is working to restore a section of the Kenduskeag Stream, a tributary of the Penobscot River, because of its value as spawning and rearing habitat for Atlantic salmon and brook trout. The group is actually having a bridge replaced that has altered the stream channel and is interfering with the fish's natural cycle. They are also working to reduce impacts in the stream from nearby cattle grazing.

In Connecticut, a group called Save the Sound used FAF support to restore a 40-year-old fishway (also known as fish ladders) on the Saugatuck River, a tributary of Long Island Sound. The project reopened spawning habitat for river herring, alewives, sea-run brown trout and American eel. "It was built in the 60s and wasn't functioning," said Bill Shadel, director of research and restoration. "We used volunteers and worked in partnership with a local Trout Unlimited Chapter. "

"It was a small project," added Shadel, "but it had a big effect on the major forage species for the sound. Projects like this are one of the reasons striped bass are doing so well because they influence fisheries far away and restore estuaries which are the basis of the marine food chain."

Save the Bay is a Rhode Island based group concerned with Narragansett Bay. They've been repairing fishways, including the Shad Factory Fishway in the Palmer River and the Echo Lake Fishway in Big Mussachuck Creek.

"The fishways are crucial for insuring that shad continue in Narragansett Bay," said Wenley Ferguson, restoration coordinator. "American shad, blue-backed herring and alewives are all important in the marine and estuary food chain." Local angling groups and a high school environmental club also helped with initial shad stocking to kick-start the restoration and annual spawning runs. "When they see the number of striped bass waiting at the base of the fishway the striper fishermen get very excited," said Ferguson. "We're helping to keep the striper from disappearing and improving their diet as well."

In New Jersey, Ocean County turned to FAF for help in restoring 35 acres of salt marsh in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Because of an attempt to reduce mosquitoes early in the last century by draining the wetlands, the marsh had been completely taken over by a plant called common reed. "It reduced habitat for wildlife and fish, and created a barrier into intertidal flats for the exchange of tide water and detritus that feeds the estuaries," said Eric Schrading, a senior biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The invasive species was killed off, and the land contoured to recreate the natural tidal flow. The increased salinity created a competitive advantage to native vegetation and wildlife which quickly returned to the marsh. Where necessary, volunteers from the Boy Scouts, the New Jersey Youth Corps and local high schools turned out to plant marsh grass.

"The shallow pool areas are also important habitat for mummichogs, an important forage fish for inter-jurisdictional (migrating) species such as weakfish, bluefish and wading birds including great blue herons, tri-color herons and egrets," said Schrading. "The bay also has a big striped bass fishery."