<p>Intense herbivory from high densities of a native, herbivorous crab (<i>Sesarma reticulatum</i>) has led to extensive losses of salt marsh vegetation in numerous locations along the Atlantic coastline of the United States. The spatial distribution of these crabs in marshes depends on substrate type in that sandy sediments with low cohesivity are unsuitable for burrow construction and maintenance. In fact, where beach sand has been deposited onto marshes during past storm events the sand content of the substrate is still high enough to be unsuitable for crab burrowing many decades later. In this study, we used sand from the terrestrial edge of two different salt marshes to assess whether marsh substrate manipulations/additions could facilitate vegetation recovery. The effect of substrate substitution with sand, as well as sand placement on top of denuded areas, was to greatly reduce burrow densities and allow vegetation to recover through clonal growth from adjacent plants. These results provide a basis for developing salt marsh management strategies where they are being impacted by this species.</p>