Because wetlands are an important part of the environment, the Canadian-based Marsh Monitoring Program has been studying the effects of outside disturbances on the swamps, marshes, mini-wetlands and adjoining woodlands throughout the entire Great Lakes Basin.
In their quest to determine the health of these wetlands as well as surrounding woodlands - the MMP enlists the help of volunteers who take a census of the amphibian and feathered inhabitants at selected locales. A number of these volunteers work at collecting data for both birds and amphibians, others concentrate on birds alone while others focus on the frog population.
Batavian Bill Moon is a local MMP volunteer who focuses on the amphibian population. Waiting for a minimum air temperature of 60 degrees, he will select an evening during the months of April, May and June to visit nearby wetlands as dusk approaches. He waits for night to fall, then for a given time period, listens for spring peepers, green frogs and bull frogs, carefully charting the results. The nocturnal chorus, or lack thereof, speaks volumes for the Marsh Monitoring Program.
Due to the work of the program volunteers throughout the Great Lakes Basin, the MMP has established a ranking system, or report card so to speak, to evaluate the state of various wetlands stretching from Wisconsin to the St. Lawrence River. These wetlands range in size from vast swamps and cattail marshes to microcosmic wetland tracts.
Being among nature’s delicate species, the songbirds and amphibians serve as natural barometers, providing insight as to the health of the outdoors environment. As good indicators of air and water quality and other earth resources, such species are the first to be affected by various disturbances on the landscape such as Great Lakes water levels, housing or developmental sprawl, etc.
