Useful background information for teachers using this unit on the geological formation of Connecticut, topography of Connecticut and the formation of wetlands can be found in the Teacher’s Institute Guide developed in 1984,
Geology and Industrial History of Connecticut.
A unit found in that Guide,
Know Your Watershed,
will be of particular interest to those teachers that will use this unit. The following is the abstract from that unit:
The objective of this unit is to teach students the importance of knowing the watershed in which they live. The unit is divided into four parts; watershed, hydrologic cycle, surface water and ground water. The strategy for each section is to provide teachers with background information and then to suggest in-the-classroom, in-the-playground, and in-the-field curricula units to enhance classroom lectures.
1
There are two main categories of wetlands, saltwater coastal wetlands and freshwater inland wetlands. The focus of this unit is inland wetlands. A saltwater coastal wetland, the salt marsh, is shown in Figure 1 merely for comparison.
Bogs, marshes, and swamps have been known for centuries, but only recently, due to the recognition of their importance, have there been attempts to group them under one term, “wetlands.” There is still much confusion concerning the definition of various types of wetlands due to their diversity and because demarcation between wet and relatively dry environments lies on a continuum. Interesting further complications arise depending whether one is dealing with a local, state or federal classification system.
Over fifty percent of our Connecticut wetlands have been destroyed by filling and other construction activities. Although they are now protected by law, it is important for citizens to be able to identify a wetland area should it be threatened by a proposed construction site so that they can contact the proper authorities. If the area in question is a lake or pond, this determination is rather easy. However, if the area is a marsh during the dry month of August, which may not show visible signs of water, how can you determine whether you are in a wetland? It seems important to me that a classification system should allow a lay person to identify wetlands so that it can be determined whether a wetland is involved in a particular project and to tell what statutes apply, where to get information on each regulatory program, and under what conditions permits can and can not be issued. Some classification systems make this determination easier than others.
In Connecticut, the following is the State Department of Environmental Protection’s definition of inland wetlands: “Freshwater wetlands are areas such as banks, bogs, swamps, meadows and submerged land. Soil types designated as poorly drained, very poorly drained alluvial and flood plain by the National Cooperative Soils Survey define inland (freshwater) for regulatory purposes.”
2
The soil categories are as follows:
Poorly drained soils
occur on land areas where the water table either interrupts or lies near the surface from late fall to early spring. This land is nearly level or gently sloping.
Very poorly drained soils
occur in either level or depressed land areas. The water table lies at or above the surface at almost all times during the year.
Alluvial and flood plain soils
occur along stream belts occupying nearly all level areas subject to stream flooding. Alluvium (water-transported sediments) is the inorganic component of these soils. Some of these soils may be well drained.
Tidal Wetlands (or marshes) consist of very poorly drained
organic
soils which are subject to regular tidal inundation. They are typically found in protected areas along the shore and estuaries of Long Island Sound.
3
The main reason for using soils as a determining diagnostic factor, and not plants, is that all of Connecticut’s soils had been mapped by 1980. Soil maps can be obtained from the Hartford DEP office listed in the Teacher’s Resource list. However, using this system often requires that a soil scientist make wetland determinations since it is difficult to identify soil types. In response to this problem, the EPA decided that a more workable classification system should point to a vegetative cover as a means of identification of a wetland and its boundaries, since plants are an easier, more visible marker and since there are many picture guides to identify plants available. EPA and The Peterson Field Guide series which use pictures to aid in plant identification are listed in the Teacher and Student Bibliography.
