The
Neponset River Watershed is home to a variety of wetland
types, and each is home to a different array of creatures,
plants and conditions. What
kind of wetlands have you seen in the Watershed? How
about these:
Salt
marsh at the DCR Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester
Wet
meadow at Pequitside Farm in Canton
Cedar
swamp in Sharon
Marshland
at the Dead Meadow Swamp on the Canton/Stoughton border
Wooded
swamp along the Burma Rd. trail in the Fowl Meadow
section of the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton
Reed-filled
Neponset River Estuary salt marsh visible from I-93,
heading south when Boston Harbor/Dorchester Bay is on your
left - and the salt marsh is on your right
Atlantic-white-cedar
bog - e.g., Ponkapoag Bog - in Canton, a part of the
Blue Hills Reservation
Reed-filled
freshwater marsh visible along Rt. 1 in Norwood, near the
auto dealerships
Vernal
pools (throughout the Blue Hills Reservation and other
wooded areas in the Neponset River Watershed during the
spring)
Freshwater
marsh at the Boston Nature Center in Mattapan
Reed-
and cattail-filled freshwater marsh along Burma Rd.
trail in the Fowl Meadow of the Blue Hills Reservation
Salt
marsh visible as you stand at Milton Landing on Wharf
St. in Milton
Freshwater
marsh visible along Rte. 138, at the boundary of Canton
and Stoughton
Salt
marsh reeds visible at Squantum Point in Quincy
Wetlands
throughout Metro Boston have been significantly altered over
the centuries. They've been filled-in, used as dumping
grounds, ditched, mowed, developed, and farmed, to name a
few alterations.
Because
we now know that wetlands serve significant ecological and
public health functions in the landscape and as homes,
feeding grounds and nurseries for a diverse array of native
species, individuals, organizations and governments at all
levels are getting involved in protecting and restoring
these natural resources. For example, the MA Dept. of
Conservation and Recreation has been restoring the salt
marsh in the Neponset
River Estuary.
The
Neponset River Watershed Association also is working to
restore local wetlands. We invite you to learn about
NepRWA's Fowl
Meadow Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project and get
involved!
Dec.
2009
