Suttons Bay Wetlands EarthCache
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Wetlands are defined as a landform which has soil saturated with moisture either seasonally or permanently. Wetlands are characterized by as having a water table that stands at or near the soil long enough each year to support hydrophytes or aquatic plant life. Water in wetlands may be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. The soil may be partially or completely covered with water. Wetlands typically include swamps, marshes, and bogs. Wetlands serve as food, shelter, and as a habitat for hundreds of native animal species.
Michigan has lost 70% of it’s coastal wetlands in the past 100 years due to human activities. As a result animals have lost their habitats and our lakes and streams have lost the buffer that helps cleans water as it moves from the mainland out to the bay and finally to the Great Lakes. Wetlands also help to keep excess nutrients out of the Suttons Bay and Lake Michigan. Inland runoff carries harmful substances that include: oil and gasoline from roads and streets, fertilizers and pesticides from lawns, mercury from coal burning plants, plus bacteria and disease causing organisms. Gasoline evaporates into the air. Oil and other chemicals attach to clay particles and sink to the bottom. The fertilizers help the wetland plans to grow instead of causing excessive growth of algae in the bay and Lake Michigan. Wetlands act as a buffer or filter for lakes, streams, and rivers. They trap and store chemicals that are carried by runoff instead of them ending up in the bay or lake. Bacteria may change some chemical into harmless substances.
The Great Lakes Watershed contains two different types of wetlands – coastal and inland.
Coastal wetlands include northern great lakes marsh, lake plain marsh, northern rich fen, river marsh, and drowned river mouth. Inland wetlands include rich fen, bogs, swamps, and shrub thickets.
This wetlands is part of the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay, MI. Inland Seas Education Association’s mission is to help people of all ages experience the science and spirit of the Great Lakes through ship-board and onshore education programs. In 2006 they wanted to do their part to help treat runoff before it entered Suttons Bay and ultimately Lake Michigan. Their plan was to restore the shoreline along the bay, treat pollutions before it entered the bay, and restore wetlands. This wetlands location has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habit. It provides the basic elements for wildlife to thrive which includes: food, water, cover, and a place to raise their young. This particular wetlands sits right on the edge of Suttons Bay and was connected to the nearby Suttons Bay marsh in 2006 to further add an additional layer of filtration of runoff into Suttons Bay.
To log this earth cache:
Visit the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. Take a stroll through their wetlands. There are visual aids through the walking path that explains how wetlands work.
1) Using the signs answer the following questions –
a. How is the wetlands here connected to the Suttons Bay Marsh?
b. What function does the greenbelt of shrubs and trees along the shoreline provide?
c. What is the number one source of pollution flowing into the Grand Traverse Bay according to the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan?
d. What does runoff hurt?
2) Have your photo taken with you or your group with the wetlands behind you.
3) Email me the answer to the questions for #1 using my profile.
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