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The sound of trickling water breaks the stillness of the woods at Ashland Nature Center, drawing attention to a small forest pool wreathed in newly fallen snow. Seemingly insignificant when compared with the towering trees that surround it or the rushing creek that flows nearby, the small pool is one of Delaware’s most important habitats.
It is a seepage wetland, an area covered with groundwater that has seeped to the surface because of an impenetrable rock layer below the soil.
It is a unique type of wetland that is vital because of the rare plants and animals that live there, said Bill McAvoy, DNREC’s heritage botanist. The water temperature is about 40 degrees year round, he said, so it can support plants like the log fern, which are typically found in much colder climates. Seepage wetlands are also breeding grounds for dragonflies, damselflies, Eastern Tiger Salamanders and home to the endangered Bog Turtle, he said.
But seepage wetlands are often endangered themselves because of development and pollution, said Rebecca Rothweiler, a DNREC outreach specialist.
About 30 percent of the First State’s land area is wetlands and the bulk of those marshes -- downstate tidal wetland -- are well-protected by federal regulations, she said. But Delaware’s 30,000 acres of isolated upstream wetlands that pepper the Piedmont are not protected, she said.
“Isolated wetlands are at risk to be filled, drained, pretty much anything,” Rothweiler said. Because they are not as carefully monitored as tidal wetlands, the state may not know a seepage wetland is in danger until it has already been destroyed.
Agriculture and development are the two major contributors to wetland destruction in Delaware, a state that has lost 50 percent of its wetlands since it was settled 370 years ago, she said.
It is a serious issue because such areas are vital for flood control.
“Wetlands are like sponges. They soak up and hold a lot of water,” she said. They also filter that water, which provides erosion control and can naturally clean many of the polluted streams that run through the Piedmont, she said.
Flood plains, another type of wetland common in the Piedmont, are particularly useful for flood control, McAvoy said. Their silty soil holds water from streams that overflow their banks every spring, slowly redistributing nutrient-rich dirt. Migratory songbirds rely on them as stopping grounds
They are some of the last green corridors left in the Delaware's Piedmont, but they are threatened by invasive plants that choke out natural species.
The sound of trickling water breaks the stillness of the woods at Ashland Nature Center, drawing attention to a small forest pool wreathed in newly fallen snow. Seemingly insignificant when compared with the towering trees that surround it or the rushing creek that flows nearby, the small pool is one of Delaware’s most important habitats.
It is a seepage wetland, an area covered with groundwater that has seeped to the surface because of an impenetrable rock layer below the soil.
It is a unique type of wetland that is vital because of the rare plants and animals that live there, said Bill McAvoy, DNREC’s heritage botanist. The water temperature is about 40 degrees year round, he said, so it can support plants like the log fern, which are typically found in much colder climates. Seepage wetlands are also breeding grounds for dragonflies, damselflies, Eastern Tiger Salamanders and home to the endangered Bog Turtle, he said.
But seepage wetlands are often endangered themselves because of development and pollution, said Rebecca Rothweiler, a DNREC outreach specialist.
About 30 percent of the First State’s land area is wetlands and the bulk of those marshes -- downstate tidal wetland -- are well-protected by federal regulations, she said. But Delaware’s 30,000 acres of isolated upstream wetlands that pepper the Piedmont are not protected, she said.
“Isolated wetlands are at risk to be filled, drained, pretty much anything,” Rothweiler said. Because they are not as carefully monitored as tidal wetlands, the state may not know a seepage wetland is in danger until it has already been destroyed.
Agriculture and development are the two major contributors to wetland destruction in Delaware, a state that has lost 50 percent of its wetlands since it was settled 370 years ago, she said.
It is a serious issue because such areas are vital for flood control.
“Wetlands are like sponges. They soak up and hold a lot of water,” she said. They also filter that water, which provides erosion control and can naturally clean many of the polluted streams that run through the Piedmont, she said.
Flood plains, another type of wetland common in the Piedmont, are particularly useful for flood control, McAvoy said. Their silty soil holds water from streams that overflow their banks every spring, slowly redistributing nutrient-rich dirt. Migratory songbirds rely on them as stopping grounds
They are some of the last green corridors left in the Delaware's Piedmont, but they are threatened by invasive plants that choke out natural species.
The dollar value of the flood prevention provided by wetlands is staggering, Rothweiler said. The areas are also important for bringing revenue to Delaware – the First State generated $299 million from wildlife activities in 2006, she said, and many of those activities occurred on wetlands.
“The beauty provided by wetlands is something that can’t be quantified,” she said.
The state needs stronger freshwater wetland regulations, she said, but there are many things homeowners can do to protect freshwater wetlands, like installing rain gardens, using rain barrels, planting native plants and cutting back on fertilizers and pesticides.
Residents must speak out to protect Piedmont wetlands, she said, before the trickling forest pools are silenced once and for all by development.
