Wetlands of Virginia

1. Wetlands of Virginia SOL 6.7 and 6.5

2. Wetlands – Basic Information • There are many types of wetlands, but they can be divided into several basic groups. Estuaries Swamps Marshes Bogs • Does Virginia have each of these types of wetlands? • What has been done to destroy them? • What can be done to preserve them?

3. The World’s Wetlands

4. Importance of Wetlands • Flood Protection Water moves more slowly through wetlands, and therefore keeps it out of the major streams and rivers like a sponge. • Water filtration/purification Wetlands naturally filter out sediment, and bacteria and plants naturally process a number of pollutants. • Habitats for a diversity of living creatures More than one-third of the species listed under the Endangered Species Act are dependent on wetlands for some part of their life. Wetlands exceed all other land types in wildlife productivity .

5. Types of Wetlands • The four main types of wetlands are Marshes Bogs Swamps Estuaries There are many combinations and other ways to classify them, but we will stick to these four basic types.

6. Marshes • A freshwater marsh is an inland area covered with 1–6 feet of water, containing a variety of grasses, flowers, and bushes, rather than trees, as in swamps. 

7. Chickahominy River Freshwater Marsh

8. Wouldn’t you like to fish here?

9. Bogs • A bog is a peat-accumulating wetland. Some shrubs and evergreens grow in bogs, as do mosses. Most water comes from precipitation. There is usually no direct inflow or outflow of water. • These pictures are from the Cranberry Glades in West Virginia.

10. Dolly Sods, West Virginia

11. More about bogs • Water in bogs is low in oxygen,  very acidic and often cold! • Insect-eating plants like pitcher plants and sundew often are found in  bogs.  • There aren't many fish in bogs because of the low levels of oxygen in the water.  • And on a gruesome note: Preserved bodies are sometimes found in bogs!  Decomposition happens so slowly, anything that falls into a bog, including animals and people, can be preserved for long periods of time!

12. Swamps • Swamps are slow moving streams, rivers or isolated depressions that host trees and some shrubs. • One of the most famous swamps is in Virginia. • The Great Dismal Swamp. • Take a look!

13. This is the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia • The Great Dismal Swamp has been drastically altered by humans over the past two centuries. • Agricultural, commercial, and residential development destroyed more than half of the swamp.

14. What has happened to the Great Dismal Swamp? • In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. • He formed two businesses known as the Dismal Swamp Land Company and the Adventurers for Draining the Great Dismal Swamp. • This group hoped to drain the Swamp, harvest the trees, and use the land for farming. • The company purchased 40,000 acres of Swamp land for $20,000 in 1763. • Washington directed the surveying and digging of the 5-mile long ditch from the western edge of the Swamp to Lake Drummond, known today as Washington Ditch.

15. What next? • Camp Mfg. Company, a predecessor of Union Camp, acquired all the Dismal Swamp Land Company's property in 1909. • Lumbering continued in the Swamp and by the 1950's the last 20,000 acres of virgin timber were removed. • In 1973, Union Camp donated its Virginia swamp holdings to the Nature Conservancy which, in turn, deeded it to the Department of the Interior for creation of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. • The Refuge consists of 107,000 acres of forested wetlands surrounding Lake Drummond, a 3,100 acre natural lake located in the heart of the swamp. • William Drummond, the first Governor of North Carolina (1663-1667), discovered the oval lake which still bears his name.

17. Estuaries • An estuary is the wide part of a river where it nears the sea. • Fresh and salt water mix. • A wide variety of wetlands, fresh and saltwater exist along the edges of these estuaries.

18. The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary. • Fresh water from the rivers mixes with the salt water from the Atlantic.

19. Estuaries (continued) • Estuaries are special places where life thrives! Chesapeake Bay is no exception! The Bay watershed is home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals. • The Bay watershed is also home to 15.1 million people. •  Because salt water is heavier than fresh water, estuaries like Chesapeake Bay contain two layers: a saltier layer that lies on the bottom and a freshwater layer above. Mixing occurs where the two layers meet.

20. Chesapeake Bay Estuary •      The waters of the Chesapeake are saltiest near the mouth of the Bay and gradually become fresher northward. • The force of the earth's rotation makes salt water accumulate on the Eastern Shore, so water tends to be saltier on the eastern side of the Bay at any latitude. • Overall, however, the proportions of fresh and salt water in the Bay depend largely on the amount of rainfall that flows out of the Chesapeake's major rivers. • During a wet year, the entire Bay will be somewhat fresher than normal, and conversely, a dry year will result in higher-than-average salinities.

21. So now you know… ….what wetlands are and why they are important. • You can tell the difference between marshes, swamps, bogs, and estuaries. • How about a look at the problems we have caused in these natural wonders, and how we are trying to solve them.

22. Wetland Destruction • Of the original 215 million acres of wetlands existing 200 years ago in the continental United States, less than 100 million acres remain. • Wetland losses from the 1950’s to the 1970’s averaged about 458,000 acres per year. Agricultural development was responsible for about 87 percent of this loss. • Of the 100 million acres of wetlands remaining in the continental U.S., Florida has the most, with 11 million acres. Next are Louisiana (8.8 million), Minnesota (8.7 million), and Texas (7.6 million).

23. Check out the Map

24. A Major Problem • The remaining wetlands, in millions of acres, are: • Coastal Wetlands - 5.1 Inland Marshes and Wet Meadows - 28.6 Inland Shrub Swamps - 10.4Inland Forested Wetlands - 46.3Other Inland Wetlands - 6.1 • A lot of wetland loss is attributable to agricultural activities, such as draining, diking and plowing of wetlands. • Other human activities that lead to wetlands destruction include: Development projects, such as subdivisions, shopping malls and business parks Dikes and levees along rivers to divert flood waters Pollution Logging Mining Road construction Non-native invasive plants Grazing

25. Fixing the Problem • In the 1990’s wetland losses have decreased to an average of about 117,000 acres per year, due to • Passage of the federal government Clean Water Act • State and local government wetland protections. • The vigilance of community conservationists who challenge the ongoing draining and filling of wetlands. • Virginia State Water Control Law which states that when Virginia Water Protection permits are issued, such “permits should contain requirements for compensating impacts on wetlands”. • The law further states that “…such compensation requirements shall be sufficient to achieve no net loss of existing wetlands acreage and functions…” (§ 62.1-44.15:5D, Code of Virginia).

26. Think About It? • Preventing wetlands loss is good for the economy, because filling or draining wetlands costs a lot of money in lost tourist dollars, reduction of fisheries, repairing flood damage. • It also costs a lot more to restore a wetland that to just protect it in the first place. • What can you do to help prevent the destruction of wetlands in your area?

27. What Have You Learned? • What are the four main types of wetlands? marshes, bogs, swamps, estuaries • What are three reasons for why wetlands are valuable? flood protection, water treatment, diverse life habitats • A wetland with 1–6 feet of water, containing a variety of grasses, flowers, and bushes is called a __?__. marsh • A forested wetland is called a __?__. swamp • A __?__ is a peat-accumulating wetland. bog • An __?__ is where freshwater and saltwater mix providing for many different types of wetlands. estuary • The __?__ consists of 107,000 acres of forested wetlands surrounding Lake Drummond. Great Dismal Swamp • What human activities have cut down the size of the Great Dismal Swamp? Logging, building/development, tourism

28. What Have You Learned • The __?__ is an estuary that is home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals. Chesapeake Bay • Name three factors that affect the saltiness of the bay waters? North to South distance to the mouth of the bay, east to west because of the Earth;s rotation, amount of rainfall • Of the original 215 million acres of wetlands existing 200 years ago in the continental United States, less than __?__ acres remain. 100 million • Name four human practices that destroy wetlands. draining, diking and plowing of wetlands real estate development road construction mining • Name three human policies that slow down the wetland destruction today? The Clean Water Act community conservationists who challenge the ongoing draining and filling of wetlands. Virginia State Water Control Law

29. Sources • http://www.audubon.org/campaign/wetland/destroy.html • http://www.bsu.edu/ourlandourlit/Environment/Issues/Wetland_destruction.html • http://www.chambers-associates.org/wetlands.html • http://www.albemarle-nc.com/gates/greatdismal/ • http://www.deq.virginia.gov/wetlands/mitigate.html • http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dnh/EstuarineSys_photo.JPG • http://www.stolaf.edu/other/natural-areas/media/wetlands(500pixels).jpg • http://greatdismalswamp.fws.gov/pdf%20files/GSD%20general%20broch.pdf • http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep7f.htm • http://www.hpl.umces.edu/~lzhong/estuary_coastal/chesapeake.jpg • http://www.baylink.org/fieldtrips/primer.html • http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/biogeo/nanc/usda/ChesWshedOutline.gif