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(/) General description: A recent state survey reported 300,000 acres of significant 



^ wetlands in the Commonwealth. Among the fresh-water types reported are cat- 



q tail marshes, wooded swamps, and northern black spruce bogs. Swamp forests 



< are represented by deciduous and coniferous phases, the former dominated by 

 J* red maple and its associates, the latter by southern white cedar. Flood-plain 



< types along the Connecticut and Sudbury rivers exhibit hardwood, buttonbush, 

 •^ and alder swamps and cattail and sedge marsh communities. Small wetlands sur- 

 rounding some of the fresh-water ponds of Cape Cod contain some northern ex- 

 tensions of the flora of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. 



Status of the wetlands: Some of the threats to the inland wetlands include filling 

 for dumps, developments such as shopping centers, draining for agriculture, and 

 flooding for a pumped storage facility. In heavily populated areas treatment for 

 mosquito control was also mentioned. 



Sources of data: The staff of the Massachusetts Audubon Society provided most 

 of the data. Responses were also received from university biologists and State 

 Game personnel. The Boston Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in- 

 dicated that voluminous files of wetland data were available, but that it was una- 

 ble to supply information by mail on specific outstanding areas due to limited 

 staff. An invitation was extended to use these files, which could provide an addi- 

 tional source of potential areas. 



Recommendations: Among the northern bogs, one still in private hands seems 

 especially worthy of preservation. This is the Congamond Bog on the Connec- 

 ticut-Massachusetts border, reported as a typical lowland type. Hawley Bog, a 

 northern spruce bog in the Berkshires, has been acquired for preservation by the 

 Connecticut River Watershed Association and Black Pond (Vinal Nature 

 Preserve), a southern white cedar bog, is being similarly protected by The Na- 

 ture Conservancy. These two should qualify as landmarks. Poutwater Pond ap- 

 pears to be another interesting boggy area in need of protection, and action 

 should be taken to preserve it. Hockamock Swamp comprising some 6000 acres 

 is one of the few remaining extensive white cedar swamps. It represents a wet- 

 land type in vital need of protection at this latitude. Schenob Brook Swamp is 

 reported to be an extensive wooded swamp with a great diversity of species. The 

 ownership is private. An outstanding marsh and river-bottom complex (about 

 2000 acres) lies within the Greai Meadows National Wildlife Refuge along the 

 Concord and Sudbury rivers. The Lynnfield Marsh in Essex County and the 

 marshes along the North River merit attention. At the headwaters of the Sudbu- 

 ry River in Worcester County, several hundred acres of mixed wetland con- 

 sidered of outstanding importance are threatened by development. We have 

 received no data on the fresh-water wetlands of Cape Cod. There may be some 

 good ones within the Cape Cod National Seashore. 



