All posts by Amanda Lederman

What’s So Bad About Phragmites?

Marsh Restoration

After reading through this week’s chapter, it seems pretty clear that marsh restoration isn’t all that simple. The solution isn’t obvious at all – attempting to restore the wetlands through human intervention may not necessarily be better than just letting the non-native plants grow freely. Weis and Butler make it very clear, marsh restoration is not always proven to be successful; the “if you build it they will come” philosophy is no guarantee.

When removing unwanted species and changing the elevation and hydrology of the marshes, there is still a chance that the native plants and organisms won’t return. Therefore, I think this idea of “no net loss of wetlands” goal is greatly flawed. I don’t believe that someone who is destroying a salt marsh somewhere should be able to “redeem” themselves, on an ecological level so to speak, just by improving another salt marsh elsewhere. That person has still destroyed a salt marsh existing in “location x” and now that specific area will be depleted of wetlands forever. Furthermore, especially if these marsh restorations aren’t necessarily successful, there is no way to argue that one seemingly positive action (marsh restoration) can negate a definitively negative action (marsh destruction).The National Academy of Science put it simply, “Wetland restoration shouldn’t be used to mitigate avoidable destruction of other wetlands until it can be scientifically demonstrated that the replacement ecosystems are of equal or better functioning.”

In fact, from reading this chapter, it is apparent that the attempts to restore marshes can sometimes hurt the environment even more; in this case, the “solutions” that are being implemented are perpetuating more environmental problems.

Some of the efforts to remove the non-native species in favor of the native Spartina include using herbicides and toxic chemicals which are actually damaging the environment. How can one justify their attempts to restore the marshes when they are still hurting the environment in other ways? This is, in effect, a very hypocritical procedure.

At the same time, removal of Phragmites may not necessarily yield successful results. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when trying to produce a productive salt marsh through human intervention completely void of Phragmites. Hence, why risk exacerbating the problem if the current situation isn’t all that bad? As the chapter explains, despite the fact that they have been labeled as a weed in the past, Phragmites are not just deadweights taking up space in the salt marsh; moreover, they aren’t “ecologically useless” as they can still serve as proper food for certain organisms and contribute to the creation of a habitat.

Thus, Sheehan’s quote encapsulates the main idea of this chapter impeccably, “Phragmites, it’s green most of the time, and it ain’t condos.” Although the presence of Phragmites may not have been included in environmentalists ideal vision of salt marshes, it is certainly better than the presence of condominiums, buildings and sidewalks – in other words, total marsh destruction.

Salt Marsh Destruction: Then and Now

Destruction of the Salt Marshes

In Weis and Butler’s Salt Marshes the authors recall the ongoing destruction and disappearance of salt marshes across the country. Though the authors condemn humanity’s “dominion over nature” and criticize us for recklessly exploiting the wetlands to cater to our personal needs, I believe their criticism is a bit harsh. Although the salt marshes have been gradually disappearing since the late 17th century, there were certain periods of time where the exploitation of the wetlands was somewhat essential to our society’s growth and survival.

Salt marshes have been manipulated as early as 1675, when the Dutch settlers migrated to the United States. To the settlers, the salt marshes were initially seen as source of infestation and disease. At the same time, since the wetlands couldn’t be used as farmland, in order for the settlers to be able to harvest and farm crops, they had to dry up portions of the wetlands. Because the settlers lived during the pre-scientific era, they knew nothing about the environmental consequences and effects the destruction of salt marshes would have. Not only were their actions a result of being oblivious and unaware, even more so, the facts we know about the productivity and biodiversity within the salt marshes had not yet been discovered.

As a result, I would propose that the actions and behavior of the colonists could be categorized as “innocent destruction” of the salt marshes. I don’t believe that the colonists can be blamed or held responsible for the environmental degradation associated with the salt marsh destruction. In many aspects, this elimination of wetlands was somewhat necessary for the survival and success of the newly established communities at that time. Moreover, were it not for the dikes and sluice gates created, many parts of New England, like Manhattan and Meadowlands, wouldn’t exist today.

On the other hand, the destruction of marshes in recent years cannot be labeled as “innocent.” With the full knowledge of environmental consequences along with scientific evidence proving how harmful destruction of wetlands can be, there are no excuses for our actions and exploitation of salt marshes. In this case, I believe we have taken advantage of the nature around us without fully considering the vast amount of negative effects our actions generate. Nowadays, there is significant salt hay farming but for reasons other than basic survival. Farmers are exploiting this resource in order to make large profits. In addition, we are draining marshes and filling them in all because someone decided they wanted to expand a city or town beyond the land’s original topographic borders. Who are we to decide we want to expand the amount of dry land just to satisfy our own human needs. What about the animals that live in the salt marshes, or the organisms that feed off of the salt marsh plants? How will they be able to survive?

Furthermore, are we correct in assuming we can take any unowned, undeveloped land and call it ours? Not necessarily, but at the same time, this has existed as standard human practice for hundreds of years. Even so, I think it is hard to justify why our human desires and needs – which in this case seem excessive rather than essential to our survival – are more important than any other creatures’ needs?

Environmental Issues of the Past, Present and Future

Land of the Lenapes

 

As I read through this week’s reading titled, “Land of the Lenapes,” I began to compare and contrast the Lenape society and lifestyle to our modern day society in North America.

One of the first things that struck me about the Lenape tribes was the fact that they were the first group of people I’ve learnt about of who have made an active effort to change their habits and way of life in order to be more environmentally conscious. In the Lenape legend which prefaces the chapter, the Lenape chiefs interact with the animals and promise to respect and honor nature; as a result, it is said that from then on the Lenapes have always shown the “utmost respect when hunting or upon killing an animal for food.” Overall, the Lenapes were very resourceful people, only taking from nature exactly what they needed to survive. When hunting, they tried to use as much of the animal remains as they could in order to minimize the amount of waste created; from animal hides, to tusks, bones -and even organs – it is clear that the Lenapes truly made an effort to respect the earth around them.

In addition, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that the Lenapes led was, generally speaking, a more environmentally friendly way of life whether they recognized it or not. While they may have made many active efforts to become more ecological, the fact that Lenapes were hunter-gatherers indirectly caused them lead more sustainable lives as well. The nomadic lifestyle itself is one that entails traveling and resettling frequently. Hence, because the Lenapes were constantly moving around, they were never settled in one place long enough to really disturb the environment permanently. There was no overhunting or worry that a certain animal or plant would become extinct. Similarly, the soil was never completely stripped and depleted of its nutrients, nor was the ground ever overworked.

The Lenapes attempt and push towards a more eco-friendly way of living immediately reminded me of the current push in awareness of greater environmental issues. In today’s day and age, the lifestyle we live as Americans is drastically different than the Lenapes. People generally do not pay attention to how much waste they are creating; we are not as resourceful and conscious as the Lenapes and we tend to overindulge and overuse our resources. At the same time, as the prospect of global warming has become a matter of importance in the past few years, so has the prospect of leading a more eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle.There have been many groundbreaking efforts to promote a “greener” lifestyle, eco-friendly product and an education in topics such as global warming, I don’t believe there has been enough of a fundamental change in our lifestyles.

As a result, there is a lot that can be learned from the Lenape lifestyle.Whether we are hunter-gatherers or nomads isn’t important. However, the fundamental lesson of respecting nature is eternal, and instead of exploiting and taking advtage of our natural resources, we should learn to preserve them, like the Lenapes, and protect them for years to come.

Becoming One With Nature

Bio Blitz

Although I wasn’t fortunate enough to attend the Bio Blitz with my Macaulay classmates, I did have the opportunity to spend a weekend outside of Manhattan, my natural habitat, and go camping in upstate New York. This was my first real camping experience and I wasn’t thrilled to say the least. The contrast between the campsite upstate and New York City is slightly more drastic than a visit to Central Park, and I was apprehensive that the adjustment would be more stressful and nerve-wracking than relaxing. But after spending my entire summer roaming the concrete jungle of Manhattan, my friends convinced me that I would finally able to sit back and enjoy a more greener, relaxing and satisfying weekend than I thought.

During the course of our trip, we decided it would be appropriate to avoid using our cellphones and other electronics as much as possible. We also tried to use the natural environment around us to suit some of our needs. Luckily, one of my friends was able to identify several plants and berries that we were able to eat. In this case, I am sure the tools and lessons learned at the Bio Blitz could have helped me better identify plant species (and in hindsight, I wish I would have known about the iNaturalist app!). I realized how little I knew about plants and flowers despite my biology class in high school and I was eager to listen to the tips my friend had. Also, instead of using a barbeque to cook our food, we collected logs and sticks to build ourselves a true campfire.

One of the most rewarding experiences, however, was when we went fishing out on the lake. Ironically, it wasn’t the actual act of fishing or catching the fish that had an impact on me, but rather, it was the time I spent waiting to catch the fish that I found eye-opening. Because I had never gone fishing before, I was a bit nervous, but once I had cast my bait into the lake, I was able to relax and take in my surroundings while I waited for a fish to nibble. It was during those few minutes that I was truly able to appreciate the nature around me. Although I wasn’t used to such a quiet surrounding, there was something surprisingly peaceful about it: it was just nature and I.

The time waiting to catch my fish allowed me to stop, look around and observe nature like I never had before. To my surprise, I was quite amazed by the beauty of the blue skies and picturesque lake that lay in front of me; even though I have seen plenty of beautiful landscapes in movies and pictures, it occurred to me that I hadn’t experienced this type of natural scenery for myself in a while. The transparency of the water, the abundance of trees and variety of insects and animals around me made me recognize the true value of the natural world that I often take for granted. At the same time it made me think about everyday life in the city and how scarce and neglected the wildlife and plants are. It also made me realize how easy it is to get caught up in the “city life” and forget about the importance of the natural environment completely.

By the time our camping trip was over, I felt more at one with nature than I ever have before. I was finally able to leave my materialistic needs and habits behind and I was confident that I had acquired a refreshed outlook on things. Not only did I learn a couple things about surviving in the wilderness, but I also left with a newfound appreciation for nature, and the natural, organic environment around me. I realized how rarely I stop to examine the beautiful nature around me. As a result, my camping trip has inspired me to spend more time outdoors, even if it just means a quick walk in the park, because there is so much to be grateful for and just a short breathe of fresh air can remind me of that. I was glad I was able to step outside my comfort zone, namely the city, and experience nature for what it is, even if it was only for a short weekend.