Swamps and wetlands sustain fish, birds, and mammals
By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff
The state’s swamps aren’t only for ogres, at least at one
popular South County hot spot.Don't overlook the history of the Great Swamp, site
of the December 19, 1675, massacre of hundreds of
Narragansett women, children and elders by European
colonizers. Read more HERE.
Despite their pop-culture reputation as slimy, smelly
habitats for all kinds of gross creatures, swamplands are the unsung heroes of
the environment, and more plainly, they’re just cool as hell.
Wetlands produce enormous amounts of food to attract an
equally enormous amount of species, making them essentially superhighway
habitats for a stunning amount of wildlife. Swamps and wetlands sustain
everything from fish to plants to birds to insects to mammals. These areas
sustain wildlife so well that the Environmental Protection Agency has compared
them to rainforests and coral reefs.
And where wildlife goes, so do nature lovers. Longtime
residents of the state might be surprised to find out that one of the biggest
swamplands in the region is in South Kingstown, nestled between Route 138 to
the north and Worden Pond to the south. Aptly named the Great Swamp, it’s been
owned and maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
since 1950 as a state management area.
As a management area, the swamp is left mostly
undeveloped, and there’s tighter restrictions over what members of the public
can do. (DEM has long struggled to eliminate off-road vehicles from its management areas, which are banned.)
As a result, there’s some 2,200 acres of untouched,
forested swampland — one of the largest contiguous areas of its kind in the
state — primarily cedar and red maple swamp. It makes for beautiful hiking, and
there are 6 miles of flat trails between the management area and nearby Worden
Pond. Hikers are likely to see a plethora of wildlife, including dozens of
possible bird species at any given time of the year, and other mammals such as
beavers.
The area’s undeveloped status makes it crucial for climate resilience. Wetlands of all kinds, including swamps, retain runoff during storms, and provide critical protection for communities from erosion and flooding. Wetlands can even sequester small amounts of carbon annually.
Great Swamp is a particular crown jewel for bird-watching
in southern Rhode Island. The area’s status as a wetland makes it an
increasingly rich stopover for both local species and migrating birds coming
from Canada. Throughout the year, birders are liable to catch a glimpse of
Canada geese, ospreys, blue warblers, cormorants, and hundreds of other species
nesting in or around the area.
The management area attracts more than just birders. In
October, DEM opens the swamp for hunters. Twice weekly starting in October and
running through the end of December, DEM stocks the Great
Swamp and other management areas with pheasants for hunters.
Anyone interested in hiking during the fall and winter
should be advised DEM requires the public to wear 200 square inches of orange
during the hunting season or be subject to a fine. See DEM’s Fish and Wildlife
office website for full details.
This story is part of our “Special Places” series. Read other stories in this series.