Why Salt Marshes Matter: A Naturalist’s View from Cape May Station

Oct 30

Guest Blogger, Jesse Amesbury, Revolution Rail’s Corporate Naturalist

Salt marshes might not look flashy at first glance, but take a closer look from the seat of a rail bike in Cape May, New Jersey and you’ll discover one of the East Coast’s most underrated ecosystems.

If you’ve never tried rail biking before, imagine pedaling a custom-built bike along repurposed railroad tracks. At Revolution Rail’s Cape May Station, your guided tour glides through multiple habitats, including one of the most ecologically important in the region – the salt marsh. Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that bridge the land and sea, pulsing with life and playing a vital role in protecting the shoreline.

While the vast expanses of salt marshes may look plain at first, they are an incredibly important ecosystem for humans and wildlife. If you live in or even visit a shore town in New Jersey, the salt marshes play a crucial role in protecting the infrastructure at our favorite beach towns. That is because salt marshes essentially act as a giant sponge during storms. In fact, one square acre of salt marsh can absorb 1 million gallons of water.

During hurricanes or nor’easters, salt marshes absorb water that would otherwise flood homes and infrastructure. Cities built on salt marshes, such as Charleston, South Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana, have consistent flooding problems due to the destroyed salt marshes these cities sit upon. So, protecting salt marshes from development can be extremely beneficial for homes, businesses, and broader communities and cities.

Another amazing fact: Salt marshes have the same level of bio-productivity as a rainforest. The biodiversity of salt marshes is lower than a rainforest, but they do produce the same volume of life as a rainforest. That is very important, especially if you enjoy eating seafood, because 70% of all seafood consumed by humans will spend some part of its life in a salt marsh. So, if you enjoy eating seafood, once again, make sure to protect salt marshes from development!

egret in a salt marsh in Cape May, New Jersey — A Great Egret hunts in the expansive salt marshes of Cape May, New Jersey. During super high tides, the entire marsh can be under water. When the water recedes, fish often get trapped in small pools making it a big buffet for birds like this Egret.

Salt marshes are loaded with various wildlife encompassing dozens of species, some of which can only live in a salt marsh. Many of us are familiar with Laughing Gulls, the species of gull always trying to steal your sandwich on the beach. Cape May County is home to the largest nesting colonies of Laughing Gulls in the entire world. They lay their eggs on top of a bed of grass which may seem dangerous because of predators, but because they purposely nest on salt marsh islands, their eggs are safe from mammalian hunters like raccoons, foxes, and skunks. The biggest threat these birds face is flooding. If they can time their nesting cycle in between flood events they can have extremely successful nesting seasons.

Laughing Gull sitting on a grass nest near the water — The most skilled Laughing Gull nest builders have been documented tethering their nest to grasses in the salt marsh so even if there is a flood, the nest won’t float away.

Clapper Rails are another denizen of the salt marshes here in Cape May. Rails are a secretive species of bird that looks similar to a chicken. If you have ever heard of the phrase "skinny as a rail," it comes from these birds because they can compress their body laterally to walk through very narrow pathways in the dense grasses of the salt marsh. Their unique vocalizations are frequently heard while our guests are peddling along the tracks in Cape May.

Be sure to note the beauty of the salt marshes the next time you are pedaling on the railroad tracks in Cape May with Rev Rail, and remember that protecting salt marshes is not only important to wildlife, but also to people as well.