Do you know what benefits you receive from wetlands?
Do you realize that we loose almost half a million acres of
wetlands every year?
This easily accessible cache will educate you about the importance
of our wetlands.
At the time the first European settlers were coming to the new
world, what is now the United States contained about 215 million
acres of wetlands. Today, we have less than 99 million acres of
wetlands, and are loosing wetlands at an average of 458,000 acres a
year. These losses are due to the encroachment of man, primarily
through agricultural practices. More and more wetland areas are
being drained and tilled up to create farmland. The problem is,
these losses can have devastating results. Many acres of wetlands
that have been converted to farmland turn out to be ill suited to
growing crops, and instead dry up and loose their soil to erosion,
benefiting no one.
There are many types of wetlands, including salt marshes,
hardwood swamps, cypress forests, bogs, grassy potholes, and fresh
water marshes. Besides providing food and habitat to vast numbers
of wildlife species, wetlands provide many benefits to man. Costal
wetlands help stabilize the shoreline and serve as a buffer against
hurricanes and large storms. Wetlands filter pollution such as
manmade chemicals and human waste, and help recharge groundwater
and make it safe for us to drink. Wetlands help prevent erosion by
holding the soil in place with the roots of moist-soil plants and
native grasses. Wetlands provide man with raw materials for
building (cypress, hardwood lumber) as well as recreational areas
(hunting, fishing, hiking, and boating).
This type of wetlands is the freshwater marsh, located in the
rolling prairie of central Mississippi. This type marsh is
relatively common in Mississippi, and is surrounded on three sides
by farmland and pine forests. The other side of the marsh borders a
hardwood river bottom that was prone to annual flooding until
impounded into a major reservoir in the late 1950's. This marsh
helps catch and filter chemical fertilizers and pesticides that
wash out from the surrounding farmland and keep them from polluting
the Ross Barnet Reservoir, the major source of drinking water for
the Metro Jackson area.
In the 1960’s, the Pearl River Waterfowl Management Area was
established. It’s primary focus is to provide a wintering and
nesting area for migrating waterfowl and local wood duck
populations. It is also managed for shorebirds, providing shallow,
grassy water in the wet months of Winter and Spring, and moist mud
flats in the dryer months of Summer and Fall. Waterfowl is not the
only type of wildlife to benefit from the wetlands. Insects,
mollusks, and crustaceans thrive in the shallow water and exposed
mud, and are in turn fed upon by reptiles such as snakes, lizards,
turtles, and small fish. The wetlands also provide food and water
for mammals such as field mice, rabbits, deer, raccoons, and
beaver. The abundance of these animals support predators such as
birds of prey (owls, eagles, hawks), coyotes, weasels, foxes, and
bobcats. With just a little careful study you will find that
wetlands are teeming with wildlife.
The posted coordinates place you in the wildlife observation
pavilion of the Pearl River Waterfowl Management Area. It is
located just off Hwy 43, approximately a half mile east of the
Natchez Trace. The wetlands exhibit and observation pavilion are
open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no admission charge.
Just past the exhibit parking is a gate and drive leading to the
Turcotte Lab and Jack’s Ridge Nature Trail. The Lab features a
small museum, archery and shotgun ranges, and regularly hosts
special events geared towards youth and adults in the outdoors.
In order to log a find of this cache you must complete the
following:
- Take a photo of yourself with the wetlands exhibit or the
observation pavilion in the background. Post this photo with your
log of the cache.
- Identify two species of wildlife that you see on your visit.
How are these species using this wetlands area on your visit (i.e.
nesting, food, water, resting, etc.)? E-mail me your answer.
- In your own words, how does this marsh filter out harmful
chemicals from the surrounding farmland and keep it out of the
water source? E-mail me your answer.
Logs without the required documentation of visitation, or which
reveal answers to the questions, will be deleted. The Pearl River
Waterfowl Management Area is a wonderful place for the whole family
to visit and view many species of wildlife up close. Besides the
wetlands exhibit and wildlife observation pavilion, there is the
Turcotte Laboratory with a small museum and the Jack’s Ridge Nature
Trail just up the gated drive. I hope you enjoyed your visit, and
this cache.
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