Blog Post #4: Edmonds Marsh

Some of the major functions of wetlands and estuaries are they are home to numerous species of wildlife and they are a critical rest stop for migrating birds. Some of the differences I noticed between Edmonds marsh and Carkeek Park is that the wetlands at Carkeek did not have as much water, they were not as big as the ones at Edmonds, and there were not any birds at the wetlands in Carkeek. Some of the similarities between the two is that they both have similar roles in the ecosystem, they both had a few similar plants surrounding them, and they were both located in somewhat similar environments. The organism that I observed while at Edmonds marsh was a Cattail (Typha latifolia). Cattails normally grow in Marshes, ponds, lakeshores, and wet ditches, in slow-flowing or quiet water. There were many of them in that area. They are tall, long, narrow, green on the bottom portion, and brown on the top. The top section is somewhat spongy. Cattails provide important habitat and food for many marsh animals, including wrens, black-birds, waterfowl, and muskrats. They often form large, almost exclusive colonies. Wetland restoration in Western Washington is very important because wetlands play a vital role in our ecosystems.  In my opinion, I think that the second approach for restoring the wetlands at Edmonds marsh could possibly be a better option because once it returns to functioning normally, if need be, you could then continue with the next option in order to move forward and maintain the marsh. Learning about some of the species that live in the marsh and the role they play changed my perspective on the role that marshes play in an ecosystem. I was able to develop a better understanding of how important they are. One question that came up on my visit was how does the area around the marsh (the businesses, train, beach, roads, etc.) affect it?