Development of coastal New England has led to the replacement of up to 37% of salt marshes with degraded freshwater wetlands, primarily through tidal restrictions. Removing these restrictions to restore salt marsh ecology would improve water quality, increase flood and storm protection, nutrient filtration, erosion control, and carbon sequestration. However, such restorations replace functional freshwater wetlands and could potentially impact freshwater species. Freshwater-dependent wildlife species such as the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), may be especially vulnerable to rapid changes in habitat resulting from tidal reintroduction due to their high site fidelity and limited ability to disperse quickly. Conservation of genetically and physically isolated spotted turtle populations as well as the restoration of salt marshes to mitigate climate change impacts are both high priorities on Nantucket Island. These two priorities conflicted in a project to restore tidal hydrology to an impounded freshwater marsh known to host a robust spotted turtle population. We evaluated changes to spotted turtle home range size and location and habitat use in response to salt marsh restoration over eight years. Home range size did not change but the location of home ranges shifted into bordering wetlands landward of the tidal salt water influence. Spotted turtles selected remaining freshwater marshes and shrub swamps while avoiding developed land and areas of establishing salt marsh within areas that had previously been high quality habitat. This study suggests prioritizing conservation of wetlands adjacent to planned salt marsh restoration to provide habitat for freshwater species to migrate.

新英格兰沿海地区的发展已导致主要是通过潮汐限制，用退化的淡水湿地代替了多达37％的盐沼。取消这些限制以恢复盐沼生态系统将改善水质，增强防洪和防暴雨，养分过滤，控制侵蚀和固碳的作用。但是，这样的恢复工作取代了功能性的淡水湿地，并可能影响淡水物种。依赖淡水的野生动物物种，例如斑龟（Clemmys guttata），由于其高位保真度和快速散布的能力有限，可能特别容易因潮汐重新引入而导致栖息地快速变化。保护遗传和物理上分离的斑龟种群以及恢复盐沼以减轻气候变化的影响都是楠塔基特岛的重中之重。这两个优先事项在将潮汐水文恢复到一个蓄水的淡水沼泽的项目中相冲突，该沼泽已知有大量斑spot。我们评估了发现的海龟栖息地的大小，位置和栖息地使用情况的变化，以应对八年来盐沼的恢复。家庭范围的大小没有变化，但家庭范围的位置已转移到潮汐咸水影响的临近湿地。斑海龟选择了剩余的淡水沼泽和灌木沼泽，同时避免了发达的土地和在以前曾经是高质量栖息地的地区内建立盐沼的地区。这项研究建议优先保护与计划中的盐沼恢复相邻的湿地，为淡水物种迁移提供栖息地。