Dry Enough for a Walking Tour: The Tower Marsh

Changes are literally visible by the day when it comes to what is growing in the Tower Marsh at present; and the tiny seedling starts in the foreground are a surprisingly positive indicator of what might be to come (click to enlarge)

The Tower Marsh, an 85+ acre expanse that hasn't been much but shallow water (12-30" deep) ringed in Phragmites since we took possession of the property, is in the midst of a change that hasn't been witnessed in decades . . . like maybe three. For the first time since the '80s (we think), this management unit is dry enough to walk on foot.

Periodic (~weekly) rains over the last couple/few weeks have saturated the mud on at least a couple occasions. Last Friday, for example, a 0.5"+ of rain covered the expanse shown above with skim water in the morning, only to see it evaporated and/or absorbed by afternoon. This makes for some sticky walking in places, but it is the perfect incubator for a late season drawdown.

As I've written about in the past, we seeded the eastern ~10 acres of the unit with millet just a short month ago (a few weeks later than we had originally intended). The result of that seeding appears as the very light green in the background of the photo above. A shot "from the weeds" is included below. This introduction of millet was intended to create desirable cover along the Phragmites-dominated eastern dike, while leaving the majority of the new exposure prone to whatever resides in the seedbed. Our fingers have been crossed and based on our initial discoveries, we're excited!

The eastern end of the Tower is now a far cry from bare mud; it has been exposed the longest and is now dominated by a nice mix of millet (flown in), nut sedge, and soft-stem bulrush (seedbed generated) -- these areas are now supporting plants 12-18" tall

A closeup of the area above shows just what we were hoping for -- a healthy mix of "fruit"-bearing annuals (nudge sedge, pictured to the left) and even some desirable perennial species.

If you click on the image to the left to enlarge, you may be able to make out the rounded, darker stems of soft-stemmed bulrush. The largest of these plants are getting close to a foot and a half, but most are <12" and can be quickly covered in the more aggressive annuals. The good news is they are there, and they are taking root.

The other good news is that even on bare mud, the bulrush is present. In fact, it really seems to be the dominant plant in areas where water has just receded. Seedlings that are <3" tall can be difficult to identify to species, but with some experience and a good camera, you can train your eye to ID the usual suspects.

Below, I have included just a few select photos from of the other discoveries from our hot walk onto the mud. I'll try to detail what we found on the far east unit (the "Dinky Track") soon. While we implemented a similar management tactic, things are looking markedly different over there.

Demonstrating its propensity to germinate about anywhere that it can find a foothold, these two individual Japanese 
millet seedlings are joining a handful of bulrush on the inside curve of a decaying snapping turtle shell

Even one of my favorite wetland plants, arrowhead, is showing itself in very isolated clusters in the Tower

This perspective is most striking because two seasons ago it was a sea of Phragmites 10-feet tall or more; the sun-faded sticks and one isolated plant are all that remain after an aerial herbicide treatment (late August 2015); with the water now down, we are seeing the immensely positive response from the millet, nut sedge, and bulrush