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Marshes in New England Are Dying – Why?
August 25th 2006: The once lush wavy mat of marsh on Cape Cod is now blotted with muck, dead plants and barren mud. Scientists in New England first noticed similar dead blotches almost 4 years ago near Lieutenant Island.
Ecologists have warned that the saltwater marshes from Maine to Connecticut are rapidly dying leaving behind land that look like Swiss cheese or eroded land.
Scientists however do not seem to have a clear explanation for this situation other than conceding that something unusual is taking place.
Stephen Smith who is a plant ecologist for the National Park Service said that even people who have been working in salt marches for years have not seen such occurrences before.
This is a worrying situation as these marches are filled with plant life which prevents erosion and houses hundreds of fish, shellfish, birds and mammals. Therefore if the marshes are destroyed then the risk of losing the plants and wildlife is very high.
Why this is happening, no one seems to know but speculations have been made. Wrack interferences, moving chunks of ice, rising sea levels and probably huge flocks of geese that are known to have grazed and entire Canadian marches are the likely suspects but somehow investigations seem to indicate that these may not be the culprits.
Marsh ecologists continue to investigate.
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