July 29, 1982 - Building a MarshJuly 29, 1982 1 the *Uffolk Timed
Building a Marsh
The Indians of Long Island must have
fared well along our creeks and bays. We
who now shop in air - conditioned super-
markets laden with produce from all
over the world, think little of the struggle
these early aborigines had just to gather
food for survival. We know of the Indian's,
preference for our bays and creeks by the
shell heaps that have been found. Most
have been passed over by heavy develop-
ment of the water's edge, but a knowledge-
able eye can usually detect them.
Years ago when I spent more time in the
field, I'd see these shell heaps, sometimes
half washed out of a crumbling bank or on
one occasion right down at the water's
edge along the bog of our creek. The latter
locations must have been there a long, long
time for there was much bog above the
layer of shell debris.
The bog in our creeks is an accumulation
of silt built up around the fibers of grass
that grow in the marsh. Theory is that as
the sediment in the water moves in around
the millions of grass blades, they are
captured like a filter and held in place. As
the tide goes back and forth twice a day,
over eons of time the accumulation of dead
grass and sediment has created the bogs
that we know of in our creeks today.
It's hard to visualize what our island
looked like after the last great glacier
10,000 to 15,000 years ago. Great gullies
must have been formed by melting and
endless rains that eroded from the great
north cliffs southward. These scars can
still be seen and observed running north
and south as they are our creek beds of
today, and if followed northward will end
in a depression of dry land still heading
northward.
North and South Differ
Here on the north shore our land is
relatively narrow with high cliffs along the
Sound and low land a few miles to the south
along our bays and creeks. On the south
shore there are the great outwash plains
that run from the middle of the island to
the Great South Bay. There you'll find
most of the land flat and low with its
corresponding north -south creeks.
E As time went on, vegetation took over
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our land and the marsh grass started to
take hold along the flats and creek edges.
Now the grasses acted as a filter, trapping
the dead plant life and sediment and
starting a bog. Thousands of years build up
added foot after foot to the bog. Ten, 20 and
even 30 feet of bog has been cored in some
'of our marshes here on Long Island.
All the time these storehouses digested
themselves and' combined with other
elements in the sediment to create a super
nutrient factory that flows out into the
water from the marshes. These nutrients
are what the microscopic organisms feed
on that make the "soup" of our creeks and
bays; so important to the fish and shellfish
of our area. Combining this with the
relatively warm weather and water, you
have an ideal nursery area for a wide
variety of marine life to grow.
Marine life flourished during the Indian
and early Colonial times. As a matter of
fact, it did quite well up until the early
1900's. Then as man moved into our area,
he altered the waterways and changed the
land surrounding him. Gradually slow
changes took place. Man could not tolerate
the mosquitoes as the Indians had and
therefore drained the marshes. His boats
drew much more water than the shallow -
drafted canoes and in many places the
areas were deepened to accommodate
these deeper craft.
The land was farmed, much of it right to
the edge of the water and the runoff from
the fields and roads added more and more
to the problems of our creeks.
Post -War Development
After the 40's, a real push to develop the
perimeter of our creeks took place. Homes
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Page 13
BEACH SHELLS - -The great variety of shells on our beaches vouch for
the richness of our waters and the reason the Indians found our shores
and creeks so inviting. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
were put almost on the water's edge and
their accompanying cesspools leached
unnoticed into our waterways. Waste from
man and beast is a super nutrient for plant
growth. We see evidence of this in our
creeks right now with the great rafts of
green cabbage that move sluggishly about.
Each year there seems to be more and
more of this paper -thin greenery in our
creeks. It is part of the price we must pay
for disturbing the land.
This is not to say we should retreat and
go back to the way the Indians had it years
ago ... not at all. What we have done here is
merely given an explanation as to why
things have changed. As to why there are
less fish, less clams and more problems,
it's a complex story. We have been
fortunate that most of our creeks are
pollution free, but how long this can last
depends on how much pressure is put on
the land surrounding our waterways.
No longer are the best things in life free.
If we want more clams, we'll have to pay
for the seeding of them, for they cannot
keep up with the demands of the people.
If we want our waters pollution free, we
will have to watch and regulate how the
land is developed. If you want more fish,
the problem is much more complicated.
Fish move from one state to another and
we then get into federal regulations. True,
our land and water will never be as sweet
and pure as it was years ago, but it
behooves each of us to become informed
and to see that is does not degrade any
further.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH