The tide flows in, and the tide flows out — except when it can't, completely. Over time, standing water can turn a beautiful and fertile Connecticut salt marsh into a platter of muck.

Thankfully, the federal and state governments have just committed to spend close to $582,000 to see that the the tide can roll back out after it flows into the salt marsh at the outlet of Bride Brook at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic. The park is one of the treasures of the Connecticut shoreline and a destination campground and beach for people all over the state.

Coastal state parks from Bluff Point in Groton to Harkness in Waterford to Hammonsett in Madison, including Rocky Neck, share a signature landscape of salt marshes that stretch for acres — although less far than they once did. One of the best views is from a train; the Amtrak rails that carry both interstate and commuter traffic were installed along the shore in the 19th century because it was considered ideal for the purpose: scenic, flat and without the need to dynamite obstructing beds of glacial boulders.

We have learned the hard way that progress often carries a downside, but the railroad builders were not worried about the unique surface on which they laid their ties and rails. They often added fill and blocked salt water access. The salt marshes now pay a price for losing their direct access to Long Island Sound in areas such as Rocky Neck, where the outflow from Bride Brook and the marsh is impeded by having to pass through a comparatively narrow culvert under the elevated tracks.

To address the problem, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection $341,500 toward restoring the flow. DEEP has committed another $240,474. The work will take place once permitting processes are completed.

As explained by the experts, a portion of the brook must be dredged, and the dredged material deposited in a thin layer on the existing marsh. Basically, the waterway gets cleared but the marsh keeps its rich and fertile organic material. Marsh plants will reroot and meanwhile, both the water and migratory fish will be able to move in and out with the tide.

The thousands of visitors annually to the park would recognize the general area where the work will occur, although they may have never heard of Bride Brook. They may not necessarily have recognized the pondlike waterway along the last leg of the road as part of a salt marsh, or know what a salt marsh is.

Everyone in the state needs to understand what a salt marsh is and does; marshes play a unique and irreplaceable role in the ecology of Connecticut. They collect and "sink" carbon emissions. They buffer rising sea levels and storm surges better than any sea wall or stilts ever could. If the Rocky Neck marsh were allowed to continue to "drown" under its blocked flow, it would not work well as a buffer.

And they sustain species. The marshes' other, primal function is to serve as the cradle for thousands of species of fish, amphibians, shellfish, crabs, birds and insects. Over the eons the animals and plants of the salt marsh have evolved into an ecosystem that is part of the food chain for creatures of both land and sea, including humans.

This month, the state will see its eastern shoreline from the Connecticut River to Barn Island in Stonington officially designated as a NERR, a National Estuarine and Research Reserve. The designation in part recognizes the importance of salt marshes in coastal resiliency and Connecticut's unique potential for modeling what they can do for communities faced with coastal flooding. 

Massachsetts has Cape Cod, the Mississippi has its Delta, Connecticut has its salt marshes. Now is an apt time for DEEP, the Marine Science program at UConn Avery Point and the nonprofit organizations that have successfully lobbied for the NERR to promote people's awareness of them. Salt marshes forever — we hope.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.