May is American Wetlands Month

by Mary Jane Dodd, SRCC Vice President

Wetlands are near and dear to us here in the Shark River Inlet/Estuary. We benefit from this ecosystem in so many ways. It is home to our wildlife year-round residents, those who winter here, and those who come for breeding season. Fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects and plants are all specific to this habitat. It is bountiful and demands our protection.

In the coming months, birds migrating to their breeding areas in the Arctic will use these waters as a stopover. We have numerous threatened and endangered species to protect. Food sources live here - all sorts of crabs and fish that feed those up the food chain inhabit our waters and beaches.

For example, fiddler crabs are an important food source for the yellow-crowned night heron, a threatened species who come here to breed in the summer. It provides a buffer against erosion - the grasses anchor the beaches. Struggling wetlands can be supported by living shoreline projects as we have on lower South Riverside Drive.

Rain/Stormwater are let out into the estuary via outfall pipes. This is a very important area where humans play a large role in water quality. What we put on/in our yards, and what we do in the street runs into storm drains which run to water.

These maps from the national wetlands database illustrate just how large the wetlands ecosystem is for us… and how mindful we need to be of them. They require diligence of care and conservation efforts. Together we can make this happen.