Edmonds Marsh by Kevin V

 

The Major Functions of wetlands and estuaries are to provide food and nutrients for the ecosystem, especially for small organisms like insects, birds, etc. They are also places for organisms like birds

to rest when migrating. Some similarities I saw from Carkeek Park and Edmonds Marsh are that it was very muddy in both locations. Also both locations had a lot of bugs. Some differences I noticed was that Carkeek Park had a lot more trees and it had a river that was running smoothly. I don't remember seeing much of a river at the Edmonds Marsh. Also I saw more birds at the Edmonds Marsh than I saw at Carkeek Park. The main organism I paid attention to were the Great Blue Herons, when I saw them they were in the distance so my picture could not capture them very well so I did not post it. The Great Blue Heron is a keystone species because they are depended on by other organisms as a food source also the Great Blue Heron's feed off the smaller organisms, these birds are also a sign whether the ecosystem is running smoothly or not.

Wetland restoration is important in western Washington because the wetlands help fight pollution, provide nutrients, give fish and birds a place to stay, etc. From my observations at the Edmonds Marsh, it said the wetland has reduced from 40 acres to 22.5 acres so I believe trying to restore the wetland to its natural function would be the best option. I do not have much of a new perspective on wetlands other than I did not know how important they are for filtering out pollution.

A question I had was, how are we going to deal with pollution if the wetlands keep reducing in size?