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Inland and Coastal Wetlands of Massachusetts: Status and Trends

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Inland and Coastal Wetlands of Massachusetts: Status and Trends INLAND AND COASTAL WETLANDS OF MASSACHUSETTS STATUS AND TRENDS WETLANDS—OUR COMMON WEALTH March 2019 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Charles D. Baker, Governor Karyn E. Polito, Lieutenant Governor Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew A. Beaton, Secretary Department of Environmental Protection Martin Suuberg, Commissioner Douglas E. Fine, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Water Resources Stephanie Moura, Director of Wetlands and Waterways Michael Stroman, Program Chief Wetlands Program Authors Lisa Rhodes, Program Manager Wetland Monitoring & Assessment Michael McHugh, Section Chief Wetlands Conservancy Program Thomas Gruszkos, Wetland Data Analyst MassDEP Wetland Program One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 INLAND AND COASTAL WETLANDS OF MASSACHUSETTS STATUS AND TRENDS March 2019 INLAND AND COASTAL WETLANDS OF MASSACHUSETTS STATUS AND TRENDS March 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to extend a special thanks to the following staff MassDEP: Stephanie Moura, Director of Wetlands and Waterways; Lealdon Langley, Director of the Division of Watershed Management; Michael Stroman, Wetlands Section Chief; Alice Smith, Thomas Maguire and Nancy Lin of the Wetlands Program; Brian Brodeur, Aaron Richer, Alice Doyle and James Brown, of the GIS Program; Charles Costello, Wetlands Conservancy Program; and Todd Nuerminger, Photo-interpreter, University of Massachusetts, Donahue Institute. We also extend our special thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for providing a portion of the funding for this report through a Wetland Program Development Grant (WPDG). In addition to the Boston Office, the MassDEP Wetlands Program includes dedicated staff across four geographic regions. The regional Section Chiefs are: Jim Mahala Rachel Freed Southeast Region Northeast Region 20 Riverside Drive 205B Lowell Street Lakeville, MA 02347 Wilmington, MA 01887 David Cameron Denise Child Western Region Central Region 436 Dwight Street 8 New Bond Street Springfield, MA 01103 Worcester, MA 01606 MassDEP acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the local Conservation Commissions across Massachusetts. Their tireless efforts ensure the protection of our unique and valuable resources. Layout by Thomas Gruszkos, Front and Back Cover Photos by Lisa Rhodes, and Inside Cover Photo by Michael McHugh Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 8 Massachusetts Wetlands .................................................................................................... 10 Study Methods and Objectives........................................................................................... 12 Original Wetlands Map Data .................................................................................... 12 Updated Wetlands Map Data ................................................................................... 13 Wetland Change Maps ............................................................................................. 14 The Wetland Information Resource Database (WIRe) .............................................. 15 The Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System Model .............................. 15 Resource Definitions .......................................................................................................... 16 Freshwater Wetlands ............................................................................................... 16 Salt Marshes ............................................................................................................ 16 Coastal Resource Areas ............................................................................................ 16 Open Water ............................................................................................................. 17 Wetland Resources, Coastal Wetland Resources ..................................................... 17 MassDEP Original and Updated Statewide Wetland Maps 1990-2005 .............................. 18 Status of Wetlands in Massachusetts ....................................................................... 18 Wetland Trends in Massachusetts ............................................................................ 19 Natural Trends—Beaver Activity .............................................................................. 22 Case Study—Beaver Activity: Ponakin Brook ................................................. 23 Natural Trends—Coastal Processes .......................................................................... 24 Case Study—Coastal Processes: Lieutenant Island ........................................ 26 Case Study—Coastal Processes: Pochet Neck ................................................ 27 Human Caused Trends—Wetland Resource Losses ................................................. 28 Case Study—Human Caused Trends: New Road ............................................ 28 Human Caused Trends—Wetland Resource Gains ................................................... 29 Case Study—Human Caused Trends: Barre Falls Dam .................................... 29 Case Study—Human Caused Trends: Wetland Mitigation Projects ................ 30 Human Caused Trends—Change in Wetland Resource Type .................................... 31 Case Study—Human Caused Trends: Change in Wetland Type ...................... 31 MassDEP Wetland Change Maps 1995-2012 ..................................................................... 32 Wetland Resource Losses ......................................................................................... 32 Case Study—Wetland Change Project: Cranberry Bogs ................................. 33 Case Study—Wetland Change Project: Transportation .................................. 34 MassDEP Wetland Information Resource Database (WIRe) 2012-2017 ............................. 35 Ecological Condition of Wetland Loss 2005 ........................................................................ 37 Summary and Conclusions ................................................................................................. 38 List of Figures Figure 1: Major Ecoregions of Massachusetts .....................................................................................................................10 Figure 2: Freshwater Wetland .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 3: Salt Marshes ........................................................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 4: Cobbles on a Coastal Beach .................................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 5: Data Development Timeline .................................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 6: Years Aerial Photos Flown for Original Wetland Maps ....................................................................................... 12 Figure 7: CIR Image Zoomed In ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 8: Wetland Change .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Figure 9: CAPS Model Traffic Intensity Metric ..................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 10: Wetland Resources in Massachusetts—Percent Total of Acres in 2005 ..........................................................18 Figure 11: Percent of Area Wetland Resources Occupy by Watershed ..............................................................................18 Figure 12: Wetland Resources—Losses and Gains Original to Update .............................................................................. 21 Figure 13: Mapped Beaver Impact in Massachusetts Wetlands ........................................................................................ 22 Figure 14: 1991—Original Freshwater Wetland at Ponakin Brook ..................................................................................... 23 Figure 15: 2005—Expanded Freshwater Wetland at Ponakin Brook ................................................................................ 23 Figure 16: Natural Change in Coastal Wetland Resources by Watershed Original to Update ......................................... 25 Figure 17: Original Wetlands Overlaying the 1993 Aerial Photograph of Lieutenant Island ............................................ 26 Figure 18: Updated Wetlands Overlaying the 2005 Aerial Photograph of Lieutenant Island .......................................... 26 Figure 19: Original Wetlands Overlaying 1993 Aerial Photograph of Pochet Neck .......................................................... 27 Figure 20: Updated Wetlands Overlaying the 2005 Aerial Photograph of Pochet Neck ................................................. 27 Figure 21: Human Caused Freshwater Wetland Alteration— 1993 (before)..................................................................... 28 Figure 22: Human Caused Freshwater Wetland Alteration—2005 (after) ........................................................................ 28 Figure 23: Barre Falls
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