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Queens, NY Wetlands
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- Written by charlie
- Category: Wetlands
When thinking of Queens, ones imagination doesn't naturally fall to nature or wetlands - but Queens is bordered by wetlands on both its Southern border with the Atlantic Ocean and on the North by the Long Island Sound. Many of the wetlands have been drained and taken over by housing, industrialization, or airports - both JFK and LaGuardias sprawling web of related businesses and buildings both sit on former wetlands. Despite this there a few gems, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge comes to mind, () but outside of this well regarded refuge -there are often overlooked wetlands, if if you know where to look.
The photojournalist, Nathan Kensinger, shooting for Curbed NY, has documented many unseen corners of NYC. I first came across his work in 2014 when he documented Hook Creek wetlands, and recently discovered his more recent photoessay about Alley Pond park.
I've been to both Alley Pond Park and driven along the often flooded Brookville Blvd/Snake Road in Rosedale many times over the years- the wetlands are still very much there- if smaller, but seem to be in better condition that 20 years ago. The wetlands around Brookville Blvd. were always a dumping ground with many abandoned cars and trash. NYC seems to have belated realized their importance looks to have invested some money, especially on the South Shore, where hurricane Sandy devastated the area. Prior to reading, Meadowmere and Warnerville were unknown to me, despite me frequently travelling through the area- I just never crossed south of Rockaway Boulevard.
If your interested in urban NYC wetlands, he has probably written about it with a careful eye towards history and community, and touches upon how they have played a role in NYC and their resiliency plans for a changing climate.
Other worthwhile 5 boro wetland related essays cover, Hurricane Sandy, Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, and most recently, (2020) the development threatening Graniteville Swamp in Staten Island.
Further Reading:
Hook Creek, Queens/Nassau
High Point State Park - Atlantic White Cedar Bog
- Details
- Written by charlie
- Category: Wetlands
High Point State Park, located in the the Tristate corners of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania has a lot to offer visitors - lakes for swimming and fishing, 50 miles of hiking trails, camp sites and a 360 degree view from the High Point monument.
Tucked away in the 1,500 acre Dryden Kuser Natural Area portion of the park, is an ecological gem, a cedar bog. Perched near the ridge line, 1500+ feet above sea level the bog is crowded with Atlantic White Cedar. This swamp is one of a kind, no other Atlantic White Cedar swamp is found both at this elevation and so far inland elsewhere in the world. White cedar swamps are most commonly found near sea level, hugging the contours of the coastline from Maine south to mid-Florida and westward to Mississippi.
The cedar bog trail, a 1.5 mile loop, is an easy stroll with few elevation changes and is accessible from both the monument and other parking areas. Before setting off, stop by the park rangers office - they offer a useful trail map and a trail guide about the Cedar Bog Trail, with details about its history and the descriptive markers with points of interest. A link to the downloadable trail guide is here.
The guide gives color to the trails 15 markers, describing geography and plants found in the bog that can be easily overlooked. The majority of the trail skirts the periphery of the wetland, but the highlight is the elevated boardwalk, crossing through the heart of the bog. The boardwalk allows the best viewing of the plants and mosses, which would otherwise remain largely out of sight. On both sides of the walkway are White cedars, Hemlocks, and mats of Sphagnum moss covering everything, including fallen trees. Tangled with the trees are hardy, acid loving shrubs including Rhododendron, Blueberry and Hemlock, virtually making travel through the bog, if one were so inclined, almost impossible.
In the distant past, the bog was once a lake, and due to the lack of an appreciable source of surface water, a major contributor of nutrients and organic matter for most wetlands, mosses took hold. Bogs are typically acidic because the dominant plant, Sphagnum moss, releases Hydrogen ions (acidity), and the decomposed moss, peat, also releases organic acids (Mitsch and Gosselink 1993) during decomposition. The acidity in this loop is compounded again because little or no water flows through the bog, the acids are not leached away - making the water progressively more acidic. A quick fact-sheet on bog acidity.
Peat deposition and acidification slowly continues until the open water shrinks from the shores -and the entire depression fills with peat - allowing the recruitment of bog tolerant coniferous and deciduous species. Peat accumulation varies, but accumulates at most, a few millimeters per year. Peat a foot deep may have taken centuries to deposit, and is an important carbon sink.
Bogs high levels of saturation and acidity combined with minimal nutrients allows only a few plants to survive and fewer thrive. The niche plants that are successful often have additional adaptations. Of these adaptations, both the carnivorous plants Pitcher Plant and Sundew are best known, by supplementing their nutritional needs with insects. While these plants are reportedly found here, I didn't see any in the limited time I was there from either the boardwalk or surrounding trail. However I did manage to photograph the following plants, mostly from the boardwalk.
- Calla lily
- Blue Iris
- Atlantic White Cedar
- Rhododendron
- High Bush Blueberry
- Cottongrass sedge
- Turtlehead
Worth the Trip!
Author(s): William A. Niering
Source: Ecological Monographs, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr., 1953), pp. 127-148
Bogs of the Northeast
Author(s): Charles W. Johnson
University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 1985
Bog Photo Essay
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- Written by charlie
- Category: Wetlands
Ive had this article bookmarked for some time - and never gotten around to posting. The photo essay is a few years old and tells the story of the coastal bogs found on the Calvert Island-Hecate Islands in British Columbia, Canada. Over half of the islands 375 acres are covered with unusual endangered bogs. While sharing typical plants found in Sphagnum bogs, including sundews, wizend cedars and pine, butterwort - the topography is very different. Many of the bogs are found on slopes, some as steep as 60 degrees, atypical since most bogs are on level land, where the water will slowly wend its way through beds of Sphagnum mosses picking up tannins and hydrogen and losing minerals creating acidic bog conditions.
The combination of science writing and photography makes it an immersive read, and again serves as a reminder while bogs and its plants, aren't large and showy they are often are beautiful and endlessly imaginative in how they source limited nutrients from a very harsh environment.
The combination of science writing and photography makes it an immersive read, and again serves as a reminder while bogs and its plants, aren't large and showy they are often are beautiful and endlessly imaginative in how they source limited nutrients from a very harsh environment.
The article and photos also won a gold award for Best Photojournalism from the 2017 Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
Wetlands in the News
28 March 2024
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Wetlands are disappearing quickly across the United States
A new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals wetlands — 95% of which are freshwater — covered less than 6% of the lower 48 states as of 2019. That is half the area they covered...
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New wetlands, stream oversight proposal surfaces at the Colorado Capitol
Colorado lawmakers will consider a new proposal to replace federal stream protections wiped out by U.S. Supreme Court in 2023...
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Floating wetlands strengthen urban ecosystems and community engagement
In 2018, Friends of Green Lake initiated the floating wetlands project to commemorate the life of Taiga Hinckley, a beloved employee of the Greenlake Boathouse Center. The project was selected to...
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As feds stand down, states choose between wetlands protections or rollbacks
For 200 miles, the Wabash River forms the border between Illinois and Indiana as it meanders south to the Ohio River. On the Illinois side, lawmakers are scrambling to pass a bill that would protect...
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Florida’s wetlands need safeguarding. Our research vessel is helping | Opinion
Home to an extraordinary collection of species, such as the West Indian manatee, the Everglade snail kite and the Nassau grouper, Florida Everglades National Park is surrounded on three sides by...