Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment - Town of Guilford

Freshwater
C4
C.4 Freshwater Wetlands
As shown on Map A-4, wetland soil types are abundant in Guilford. Once considered noxious places and
derelict wastelands, wetlands are now known to be vital parts of the landscape and to perform many services:
• filter out pollutants and excess nutrients and sediments from water that passes through them
(“nature’s kidneys”)
• act as water storage sites, holding back floods in the wet season and releasing water in times of
drought
• serve as critical habitat for numerous species, including ducks, wading birds, and shorebirds that
breed in wetlands or use them as stop-over sites during migration
• are critical habitat for amphibian populations, which are declining rapidly worldwide
• host a suite of specialized rare plants, and have unusually high species diversity
• provide aesthetic, recreational, and commercial opportunities, such as paddling, fishing,
hunting, and nature study
The State of Connecticut defines inland wetlands as lands (including submerged lands) not regulated by
the Tidal Wetlands Act, which consist of soil types designated as poorly drained, very poorly drained, alluvial,
and floodplain by the National Cooperative Soils Survey. See Map A-4 for wet soils distribution in Guilford
and Appendix C-2 for further details. The State’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, passed in 1972, halted
historic destruction and alteration of wetlands without consideration. Guilford’s Inland Wetland and
Watercourses Regulations regulate activities within 100 feet of designated wetlands and watercourses.
Watercourses include rivers, streams, bodies of water, and intermittent watercourses, which statutorily includes
vernal pools. Wetland boundaries and the presence and extent of vernal pools must be verified by a certified
soil scientist and land use activities approved by permit from the IWWC before development can occur.
Freshwater Wetland Habitats
Descriptive terms for wetland habitats are most often classified based on the plant community they
support. In reality these listed types often occur in combination and are in a state of transition from one
type to another. Guilford supports examples of these freshwater wetland types, listed from wettest to driest:
Marshes are characterized by shallow standing water year round, with floating or emergent non-woody
plants such as sedges, reeds, cattails, arrowhead, pickerel weed, blue flag, skunk cabbage, and sensitive fern.
Wet meadows, which are not as wet as marshes, typically are covered by grasses, sedges, rushes, and other
vegetation (e.g., Joe-Pye-weed, ironweed, New England aster, boneset, goldenrod) and are in full bloom in late
summer. Hummocks formed by tussock sedges create dry sites are readily colonized by shrubs. Invertebrates
can be particularly diverse and include freshwater sponges, clams, snails, and a variety of insects, which serve as
food for other animals. Some moths and butterflies require marsh and wet meadow plants. Typical amphibians
and reptiles include snapping turtle, painted turtle, spotted turtle, northern water snake, ribbon snake,
common garter snake, spring peeper, gray treefrog, bullfrog, green frog, and pickerel frog. Marshes provide
nesting habitat for waterfowl such as ducks (particularly mallards), geese, and herons, as well as various
songbirds, like marsh wren and red-winged blackbird. Many other birds nest in adjacent thickets, and marshes
with standing dead trees attract yet another group of nesting birds, such as wood ducks, tree swallows, and
bluebirds. Typical mammals include star-nosed mole, muskrat, raccoon, and mink. Most of Guilford’s wet
meadows occur on former or active agricultural land that has been cleared of trees, often on floodplains.
Examples: upper East River (freshwater marsh), Braemore Preserve (wet meadow)
Swamps are dominated by dense shrubs (spicebush, highbush blueberry, speckled alder and briars) or
trees, most often red maple. They are often located along watercourses and on floodplains, and vary with
local water levels. Other plants include ferns, skunk cabbage, sedges, cattails, marsh-marigold, and waterwillow.
Invertebrates and mammals resemble those found in other wetland habitats. Bird life in shrub
swamps differs from that of forested swamps. In general the more diverse the vegetation, the more diverse
the animal species.
Examples: Great Swamp in Westwoods, Beaver Head Swamp, Wolf Swamp, Towner Swamp
Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment Town of Guilford, CT