Wetlands

Swamped! This turtle is a typical inhabitant of a wetland
Wetlands are geographic areas with both land and aquatic characteristics. Wetlands typically occur in low-lying areas between dry land and water along the edges of lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers or salt water from tides in coastal areas protected from waves. Some typical wetland types are marshes, peatlands (bogs), swamps and wet meadows.

Wetland Types
Marshes are wetlands characterized by soft-stemmed plants. These plants can either be emergent, growing partly in and out of the water, or submerged and free-floating. These plants are adapted to live in shallow water with moisture-saturated soils. An example of a marsh in Lake George is Dunham’s Bay.

Sawgrass and Lily Leaves Peatlands are wetlands where plants are produced more rapidly then they can decay, causing the partially decomposed plant material (peat) to accumulate. Peatlands that receive water only from precipitation are called Bogs. Vegetation grows on a saturated mat of peat that floats freely over the water. The mat may cover an entire surface of a shallow pond or only a portion, leaving open water. Bogs have poorly mineralized water and are quite acidic. Stagnant, acidic water slows all processes in a bog down. This is why bogs are so sensitive and may take centuries to recover from a disturbance.

Swamps are wetlands dominated by trees or shrubs and occur in a variety of flooding conditions. Standing water can be present for all or part of the year. Swamps filter a large quantity of water and therefore play a very important role in purifying water and maintaining high water quality.

Beaver swimming in a wetland environment Wet Meadows are wetlands composed primarily of sedges, rushes, and coarse grasses, most of which tend to grow in clumps. Groundwater is at or near the surface for much of the year, including significant parts of the growing season, creating saturated soils. These meadows are often found in the flood plains of lakes and rivers and in the areas once flooded by beaver dams or other impoundments.

Wetlands are Valuable Ecosystems A frog in a boggy wetland marsh
Wetlands are home to a variety of rare species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, up to 43% of threatened and endangered species rely on wetlands for survival. Wetlands are capable of supporting a wide variety of species due to the production of large volumes of detritus, or decaying leaves and stems that are broken down in the water. Detritus serves as food for insects, algae, fish and plants.

Wetland Creatures
Wetlands are home to a variety of creatures Another image of a beaver including microorganisms and invertebrates. For at least part of their life cycle, reptiles such as turtles, snakes and alligators live in wetlands. A large number of fish species depend on wetlands for feeding, spawning, and or protection from predatory species. Birds (particularly waterfowl) and many mammals such as muskrats, mink, beavers and raccoons depend on wetlands for survival.

Benefits of Wetlands
Wetlands reduce the likelihood of flood damage by functioning like natural sponges, storing water and slowly releasing it over time. Wetlands also help control increases in the rate and volume of runoff in urban areas and buffer shorelines against erosion. Wetlands help improve water quality by removing or retaining nutrients carried in surface runoff, processing organic wastes and reducing the amount of sediment before it reaches open water. Wetlands are also great locations for recreational activities like hiking, fishing, bird watching and boating. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 50 million people spend $10 billion each year observing and photographing wetlands-dependent birds. Wetlands also provide a great educational opportunity for scientific research.

Disappearing Wetlands
Over 50% of United States (excluding Alaska) wetlands have been lost since the 1700s. Roughly 35% were gone by the 1950s. The rate of loss has since decreased, but is still a concern. Loss of wetlands results in flooding and erosion damage, a reduction in water quality and a decrease in the population of species native to wetland habitats. Education about the importance of wetlands has increased and the public is learning more each day about the value of keeping wetland areas alive and well. Challenges remain however to convince developers and individuals landowners of the vital importance of wetland environments.

Lake George Wetlands
Lake George has very few wetlands due to its unusual geology. The low swampy areas bordering the lake also offered an easy access to the water’s edge, and most of them have already been filled for residential and commercial use.

The largest wetland area in Lake George is located at the southern and southeastern section of the lake. This area is important because it collects water over a large area south of the lake. It consists of three contiguous bays and their adjacent wetlands in the southeast end of the lake and a wetland next to Million Dollar Beach in Lake George.

The wetland at Million Dollar Beach is on state owned land and although the beach is built on filled land, the remaining wetland is probably safe from development. The three bays are Dunham, Harris and Warner and all have marinas that are built on filled land.

Northwest Bay Brook wetlands are located in the flood plain where Northwest Bay Brook, Fly Brook and Round Pond Brook join to meander south to enter Lake George. These wetlands are undeveloped except for a small car top boat launch site owned by the State of New York.

Shelving Rock wetlands are state owned and are located south of Shelving Rock at the mouth of Shelving Rock Brook. These wetlands flow into Log Bay, a sandy area ideal for boat anchorage and swimming.

The majority of the smaller remaining wetlands are in private ownership and their status is constantly threatened by development. These areas include:

Homer Point and Cotton Point wetlands in the town of Bolton Landing
Green Harbor and Assembly Point wetlands in the Town of Lake George
Sandy Bay wetlands in the town of Queensbury
Pilot Knob wetlands in Fort Ann
Sabbath Day Point wetland in Hague
Mossy Point, Black Point and Delano Point wetlands in Ticonderoga.