Resource managers are frequently asked to make decisions that affect the protection and restoration of wetland habitats. The desire is often to base at least some part of the decision on an assessment of one or more wetland functions, such as wildlife habitat value. While protocols currently exist to evaluate wildlife habitat value in freshwater wetlands, there is a lack of stand-alone methods to assess this function for coastal salt marshes, a class of wetlands that are increasingly under development pressure from urbanization. In this report, we provide a framework for assessing the wildlife habitat value of New England salt marshes by identifying the habitat characteristics that influence the presence and abundance of wildlife species. We identify these characteristics from available information on the habitat requirements of 79 bird, 20 mammal, and 6 reptile and amphibian species that use New England salt marsh habitats.