Historical Perspectives
 

  Salt marshes were once found along a majority of the New England coastline. Before the European settlers arrived, human impacts on marshes were relatively negligible. Native Americans relied on the many resources these coastal wetlands provided, primarily the abundance of fish and game (Teal & Teal 1969). In the Spring they were attracted by the spawning runs of numerous anadromous fish such as salmon, herring, and alewives. In the summer they were attracted to the local estuaries which provided breeding grounds and nursery habitat for smelt, tom cod, winter flounder and sturgeon and the nearby tidal mudflats provided plenty of shellfish (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).

  The high productivity of these marshes (resulting in an abundance of seafood including clams, crabs, and many fish) was a major draw that brought settlers to the area (Hay & Farb 1982). Salt marshes were considered valuable property not only for the fish and game they attracted, but also for the pleasant scenery they provided and their abundant production of salt hay. Farmers valued coastal marshes primarily for their many agricultural benefits; domestic animals could be grazed in the marsh and the salt marsh hay could be collected and used to feed these animals and could also be sold to other upland farmers. In addition, the taller salt marsh cord grass (Spartina alterniflora) was harvested and used as thatch for roofing (Stilgoe 1994, Teal & Teal 1969), and rushes found growing in the marsh were woven into chairs and baskets (Hay & Farb 1982). Some plants were even used for food or medicinal purposes. The slender glasswort (Salicornia europaea) is a fleshy plant that was often used in salads for its pickle-like flavor. The marshmallow plant, which began appearing in the marsh shortly after the colonists arrived, was boiled down and used as a cure for coughs and dysentery or was made into a sweet treat (Teal & Teal 1969).

  With all the benefits salt marshes provided, their importance to the vitality of New England was not always appreciated. As coastal populations grew, coastal marshes and the resources they provided were slowly eliminated. Their value had been lost to the increasing populous and this brought about a drastic change in public opinion.
 

"For most of public recorded history, wetlands were regarded as wastelands if
 not bogs of treachery, mires of despair, homes of pests, and refuges for
 outlaws and rebels. A good wetland was a drained wetland free of this mixture
 of dubious social factors."  (Mitsch & Gosselink 1986)
    Laws were passed to protect many of the resources provided by the marsh (e.g. game birds), but not the marshes themselves. In fact management decisions and practice concentrated on wetland removal rather than protection. Marshes were drained and dredged for inter-coastal transportation, filled for residential developments, parking lots, and buildings, ditched for mosquito control, or polluted (Mitsch & Gosselink 1986). Today many of our coastal marshes have been lost as the direct result of these activities.
 
 

This page was created by: Wendy Dalia
Last update: 5/26/98
Please note this page is under construction.

ConNE Home Page½Wetlands Intro Page
Salt Marsh Intro½Historical Perspectives½Haying½Reclamation½Mosquito Control½Tidal Restrictions½Boston½References