Mouth of the Mullica

[Ben Ruset]

I was looking at the USGS aerial photographs of the mouth of the Mullica River. I noticed that in alot of the marshy areas, there are really straight lines or channels that run through them. What are they?

Up by me, in Brick, some of our marshy areas have the same thing.

I'm not 100% sure they're man made. You can see them (faintly) on the NJ 1931 aerials, and very clearly on the USGS aerials.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ben, those are mosquito control ditches. They allow fish to swim up and eat the larvae. During high tide this past Fall, my friend and I took his boat up one of them and came upon a tractor that had recently dug a new ditch.

 

[MarkBNJ]

I always wondered about these. Thought they were drainage. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Ben Ruset]

How does the tractor not sink into the water or get hopelessly mired in the mud? Those ditches go all the way out to the water.

Edit: Google led me here.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ben, I was surprised at how stable the mud is in those marshes. The tractor I came upon was much bigger and heavier than that in the photo you linked to.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

I always wondered about these. Thought they were drainage.

And you would not be mistaken. These ditches certainly do drain the marshland and deplete the small ponds of stillwater to some extent, thus contributing to mosquito control. I would think that this is somewhat insignificant compared to the work that the fish do.

Something I am curious about is the impact these ditches have on the marshes...

 

[GermanG]

I've heard some folks claim that they have a negative impact on the marshes, which is possible. Any time you fragment a habitat there is some impact, even if it's not immediately apparent. They used to leave the dredge spoils on the sides of the ditches. Many of these older ditches are identified by the marsh elder or groundsel (both are called high tide bush) growing on the slightly elevated marsh on either side of the ditch. The newer equipment either tamps the spoils down with the tracks, or scatters it a distance, preserving the plant makeup of the site.

Besides mosquito control, they certainly do increase the water/meadow edge habitat greatly, benefiting invertebrates such as fiddler crabs and the wading birds like egrets and herons that feed on them. And I jump plenty of black ducks out of them while hunting as well.

Besides the ditches, the mosquito commission has also dug countless ponds on the meadows. They are just not as easily distinguished as man made, since they have more random shapes.

 

[infinite sameness]

the possitive effects are greater than the negative ones when it comes to mosquitos ew i hate them i love walking through the marshes in catus island the marshes are full of those ditches

 

[whitingrider]

I passed by the 3rd lake in Forked River recently and it is drained for some reason. There are channels running through that are not normally visable and there appears to have been a road across that ran north - south that is now exposed. Another thing that caught my eye were the hundreds of cedar stumps below the water level, normally. The first time I ever saw this lake was in 1972 and it was a lake then. Obviously at some time in the recent past it was a cedar swamp.
Merry Christmas to all. Tom

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Tom, I suspect that the "old road" you saw was a bog causeway. Probably some cranberryin' going on there in times past.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Dunno if you'd have cedar stumps under the water level of the bog, though. Every drained bog I've ever seen was flat with no subsurface obstructions.

 

[whitingrider]

I will try to snap some photos soon
Tom

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Which is the 3rd lake?

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ben, Lake Fred at Stockton College is an example of a former bog. There are plenty of stumps in there.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Hrm, maybe it didn't make a difference when they were hand picked, then. I know with the machines they use, they need to be smooth. The bogs out at Hog Wallow are all flat and smooth.

 

[whitingrider]

Okay, I just found out this lake is Cedar Lake and the roadbed is probably the old railroad bed considering it's alignment with Station Rd:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...-74.198012&spn=0.00748,0.014076&t=h&z=16&om=1

 

[bobpbx]

Hrm, maybe it didn't make a difference when they were hand picked, then. I know with the machines they use, they need to be smooth. The bogs out at Hog Wallow are all flat and smooth.

Actually, you and Gabe are probably both right. I'll bet what happened in Forked River was an overzealous rush to get all the cedar they could out of it. Then, seeing the outrageous damage clearcutting did, they started building cranberry bogs but never really made them productive. I'll keep an eye out for some Lacey History books that will shed light on this.

 

[woodjin]

Ben, Lake Fred at Stockton College is an example of a former bog. There are plenty of stumps in there.

Ahh...Lake Fred, the stories I could tell you. Lake Pam also. Lebanon lake is also cedar stump filled and I believe was a former bog but I would have to check on that.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Lake Fred, the stories I could tell you. Lake Pam also.

Do these stories involve skinny-dipping? Seems like that has been a popular pastime on those ponds.

 

[woodjin]

Yes, Yes Gabe it was.
During my undergrad years at Stockton I had many different, and sometimes comical experiences centered around these two bodies of water. But I don't want to get off topic from the thread.

Jeff