Salt marsh plants, such as pickleweed (Salicornia spp.) and saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), are uniquely adapted to the fluctuating coastal salt marsh environment, where their roots take a twice-daily bath in ocean water at high tides. As these plants die and break down, their stored nutrients enter the food web and provide a continual source of food for clams, crabs, and fish. Most animal life in the salt marsh is not easily seen, but a closer look might reveal tracks left by a raccoon or black-tailed deer visiting for a low tide snack.

Salt marsh plants are important because their matted roots stabilize the shoreline and are a buffer for pollution from runoff. As rain and debris from strong winter storms courses downstream, the salt marsh acts as a sponge, where bacteria trap and break down excess nutrients, heavy metals and other chemicals from polluted runoff water. This helps protect the water quality of the bay.

Mudflats are home to thousands of species of bacteria, insects, worms, shellfish and crustaceans. Many of the burrowing animals in this habitat are filter feeders, who siphon tiny particles of food from the nutrient-rich water. Exploring the surface of a mudflat reveals the many holes built by the animals who live and feed here. Because Netarts Bay is a marine-dominated estuary the water stays very salty, even after heavy rains, which results in excellent growing conditions for a variety of clams and oysters.