What lives in freshwater marshes &
wet meadows?
NepRWA
and partner the MA Dept. of Conservation &
Recreation - South Region, project advisor the Wetland Restoration Program
of the MA Office of Coastal Zone Management, and funding
agencies the Natural
Resources Conservation Service/WHIP, the Corporate Wetlands
Restoration Partnership, the DCR Partnerships Matching
Funds program, and the NLT Foundation, are working together to restore the
ecological quality of several local wetlands.
This
summer
we have begun a five-year Purple loosestrife biological control project in two
wet-meadows, at Fowl Meadow and at Brookwood Farm, two DCR-owned
properties located within the
Blue Hills Reservation. Learn
more about the project --
who's involved, what we're doing, and why we're focusing on
this plant.
We
invite you to explore these pictures recently taken at our
Purple loosestrife biological control sites. Imagine these
species and others, flourishing
throughout the wetlands once the infestation of exotic,
invasive Purple loosestrife is lessened.
Wildlife
Insects
Do you
know which wildlife species use the plants below, and for what?
We recommend that after scrolling through the pictures
below, you take click on the "Wildlife" and
"Insects" hyperlinks above to see who's using these
plants and more!
In
late August, this
Polygonum sp. has begun to flower at Fowl
Meadow.
Small wildlife rely on Joe-Pye weed
for nectar
and
pollen, including the insects above and butterflies
such as Monarchs and
Swallowtails.
Joe-Pye
weed foliage.
Hummingbirds use the nectar of
Jewelweed's snapdragon-like
flowers.
Jewelweed
foliage. People use Jewelweed to help reduce the
itchiness
of
Poison ivy rashes.
Sedge
tussock.
Swamp
milkweed! The Monarch butterfly
larva and a great diversity
of
other insects feeds on milkweed.
Common
milkweed along the walking path at
Fowl
Meadow,
fruiting.
Narrow-leaved
Meadowsweet flowers
await pollinators at Fowl
Meadow.
Steeplebush
blooming a few weeks after
Meadowsweet
has begun to flower.
Cattails.
Marsh birds use cattails as habitat - including the
endangered Least
bittern, which nests within cattail stands (and avoids
Purple loosestrife) (the bittern also feeds on the fish,
frogs, tadpoles, salamanders and water insects of the
marsh), and the
Red-winged blackbird and Marsh wren, both of which
incorporate cattail leaves into their nests. Muskrats also
rely on cattail leaves and stalks to build shelters. Ducks
and Canada geese feed on the plants' bountiful seeds, and
the geese also feed on new shoot growth and underwater
roots. Snakes, turtles and dragonflies live among the
cattails, too.
Narrow-leaved
cattail (Broad-leaved
cattail
also grows on our treatment sites,
though
it's not shown in this photograph.)
Northern
blue flag iris.
Groundnut
twines around a dogwood tree along the path between the
wet-meadow and emergent wetland.
Pokeweed
fruiting in mid-August by the edge of the wetland at
Brookwood Farm.
A
sedge
Another
species of sedge
And
another...
And
another... There is a vast variety of shapes in the sedge
world!
Buttonbush borders a small stream in the wet-meadow.
Fleabane
and asters provide a pollen and nectar source for insects.
The flowers and berries of
dogwood
shrubs are used
by an assortment of wildlife.
Viburnum
fruits in mid-August, alongside the cattail marsh at
Brookwood Farm.
One
stem of a cluster of tall Wool grass within a blanket
of
Purple
loosestrife.
Possibly
Wild onion in a sea of Sensitive fern at
Brookwood Farm.
Young,
wild grapes at the wetland margin.
Ragged
fringed orchid blooms at Brookwood Farm
during
July (Tom Palmer).
Common
elderberry
at the edge of the wetland; the flowers and berries are
used by a variety of wildlife.
Multiple
types of ferns. The broader-leaved Sensitive
fern on the left, above, indicates the presence of
high groundwater levels.
Grass
And
more grass
Swamp
rose hidden in the underbrush.
The
Common rush.
Moss.
Sensitive
fern.
Can
you see the broad leaves of Skunk cabbage? How about the
long, skinny leaves of a sedge? Or, the ruffly, egg-shaped leaves of
Jewelweed?
Swamp
candle in the midst of Sensitive fern and Cattail.
A
small viburnum shrub. Birds and insects rely on
the nectar of viburnum flowers, while
small wildlife
including a variety of bird species also feed upon viburnum
berries.
A
lily blooms in the woods bordering the Fowl Meadow.
See
the insects
and other wildlife
we've spotted at our wetland restoration sites.
Learn
more.
This
project was made possible through the support of the
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration
Partnership, and the MA DCR and OPPP.
August
2008
