parts of the region. But no 

 systematic inventory appears to have 

 been compiled, and it may be 

 impossible to make one. Some 

 appreciation for the extent of wetland 

 loss can usually be gained by 

 examining detailed maps of coastal 

 urban areas at various times in the 

 past. The filling involved in the 

 creation of harbors (using dredge 

 spoil) as well as mill and factory 

 sites, roads, railways, and housing is 

 usually dramatic. 



Data for more recent years are 

 available from various sources listed 

 by Spinner (1969) and Gosselink and 

 Baumann (1980). According to the 

 latter authors, wetland loss in New 

 England since 1886 was greatest from 

 1922 to 1954 (Figure 24), "probably 

 [as] a result of public works projects 

 of the 193C's, the construction of 

 major airports, the increase in mili- 

 tary installations during World War 

 II, and a post-World War II housing 



boom." As discussed in Chapter 3, it 

 appears that a disproportionate part 

 of this loss involved high marsh areas 

 since they are less often flooded. 



close to the 

 Terry 1972). 



marsh land is 

 however, and 



England States 



easier to fill, and 



uplands (O'Connor and 



Much of the remaining 



in public ownership, 



legislation in the New 



now protects salt marshes, so it is 



likely that the rate of wetland loss 



due to human activities will continue 



to slow. But the dynamic nature of 



the marshes will continue to result 



in vegetation changes and in shifts 



of size and shape of the coastal 



wetlands. 



MOSQUITO DITCHES 



Among the most conspicuous signs 

 of human activity on the New England 

 marshes are the characteristic 

 patterns of straight parallel 

 ditches running from the upland edge 

 of the marsh or from old pond holes 



COASTAL MARSH AREAS -NEW ENGLAND & ATLANTIC N.Y. 



1886 



1906 



1922 



1954 



1968 1976 



YEARS 



Figure 24. Amount of coastal wetlands in the Northeastern United States, 

 (Gosselink and Baumann 1980.) 



52 



