Constitution Marsh is a

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

located between

Constitution Island Constitution Island is in the Northeastern United States, northeastern United States, located in New York (state), New York on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. It is directly opposite the United States Military Acade ...

and the eastern shores of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Garrison, New York Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown, on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Garrison Metro-North Railroad ...

. Together with of bordering woodlands, it forms the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

's Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Part of

Hudson Highlands State Park Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in ...

, it is one of five major tidal marshes along the Hudson River. Constitution Marsh is an Audubon

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

, and has been listed as a New York State Bird Conservation Area since the early 2000s. It is also recognized by the

New York State Department of State The New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) is the department of the New York state government under the leadership of the Secretary of State of New York.Executive Law § 90. "There shall be in the state government a department of state. The h ...

as both a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat and a Scenic Area of Statewide Significance.

Ecology

A small creek called Indian Brook flows to the Hudson River through the southern end of the sanctuary; the

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

environment near the mouth of the creek attracts a wide array of fish,

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s, among other animals, some of which are otherwise uncommon in the region. Over 200 species of both migratory and non-migratory birds have been identified in the marsh. It serves as a wintering ground and stop-over point for migrating

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

, which gather in numbers as high as 4,000 in the fall. These waterfowl include

American black duck The American black duck (''Anas rubripes'') is a large dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. It was described by William Brewster in 1902. It is the heaviest species in the genus ''Anas'', weighing on average and measuring in length with an ...

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...

s, and

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

s. Constitution Marsh is also used by migrating

pied-billed grebe The pied-billed grebe (''Podilymbus podiceps'') is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Because the Atitlán grebe (''Podilymbus gigas'') has become extinct, the Pied-Billed Grebe is now the sole extant member of the genus ''Podilymbus'' ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...

s, and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

s; at least 2 and as many as 30

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s can be found there in the winter. Autumn concentrations of

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

s once peaked at 100,000, but have dwindled since the mid-1990s. Over 50 different bird species are known to breed within the wildlife sanctuary, including the

least bittern The least bittern (''Ixobrychus exilis'') is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. Taxonomy The least bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his re ...

worm-eating warbler The worm-eating warbler (''Helmitheros vermivorum'') is a small New World warbler that breeds in the Eastern United States and migrates to southern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America for the winter. Taxonomy The worm-eating warbler is ...

Virginia rail The Virginia rail (''Rallus limicola'') is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a ga ...

Louisiana waterthrush The Louisiana waterthrush (''Parkesia motacilla'') is a New World warbler, that breeds in eastern North America and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Plain brown above, it is white below, with black streaks and with buff flanks and u ...

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis'') is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''; it is also known colloquially as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal (which was its name prior to 1985). It can be found in southea ...

spotted sandpiper The spotted sandpiper (''Actitis macularius'') is a small shorebird. Together with its sister species the common sandpiper (''A. hypoleucos''), it makes up the genus ''Actitis''. They replace each other geographically; stray birds may settle dow ...

gray catbird The gray catbird (''Dumetella carolinensis''), also spelled grey catbird, is a medium-sized North American and Central American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus ''Dumetella''. Like the black catbird ...

common yellowthroat The common yellowthroat (''Geothlypis trichas'') is a New World warbler. In the U.S. Midwest, it is also known as the yellow bandit. It is an abundant breeder in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. The genus name ''Geot ...

marsh wren The marsh wren (''Cistothorus palustris'') is a small North American songbird of the wren family. It is sometimes called the long-billed marsh wren to distinguish it from the sedge wren, also known as the short-billed marsh wren. Taxonomy The m ...

eastern phoebe The eastern phoebe (''Sayornis phoebe'') is a small passerine bird. The genus name ''Sayornis'' is constructed from the specific part of Charles Lucien Bonaparte's name for Say's phoebe, ''Muscicapa saya'', and Ancient Greek ''ornis'', "bird". ...

swamp sparrow The swamp sparrow (''Melospiza georgiana'') is a medium-sized New World sparrow related to the song sparrow. Description Measurements: * Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm) * Weight: 0.5-0.8 oz (15-23 g) * Wingspan: 7.1-7.5 in (18-19 cm) ...

, and

willow flycatcher The willow flycatcher (''Empidonax traillii'') is a small insect-eating, neotropical migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. There are four subspecies of the willow flycatcher currently recognized, all of which breed in North America (inc ...

, as well as the wood thrush, which breeds in the forest near the swamp. The marsh was included in bird habitat studies in 1986–1987 and again in 2005. The results revealed that the diversity of breeding bird species is steadily decreasing as the

red-winged blackbird The red-winged blackbird (''Agelaius phoeniceus'') is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and ...

becomes dominant. In addition to its value as a bird habitat, it is also an important nursery and spawning area for fish, including

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

, and

mummichog The mummichog (''Fundulus heteroclitus'') is a small killifish found along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Also known as Atlantic killifish, mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows, these fish inhabit brackish and coastal waters in ...

. Some 1,000

snapping turtle The Chelydridae is a family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and '' Macrochelys''. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are '' Acherontem ...

s live in the marsh, and frequently lay their eggs at the nearby Boscobel estate grounds. The area contains invasive species like

common reed ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

purple loosestrife ''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family P ...

water caltrop The water caltrop is any of three extant species of the genus ''Trapa'': ''Trapa natans'', ''Trapa bicornis'' and the endangered ''Trapa rossica''. It is also known as buffalo nut, bat nut, devil pod, ling gok (Chinese: 菱角), ling nut, lin kok ...

zebra mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally Introduced species, introduced to numerous other areas and has become an inv ...

, and

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...

History

The marsh itself is estimated to be 4,000–5,000 years old. It is crisscrossed by a series of channels dug in the 1830s as part of

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

farming efforts. The site was purchased by New York State in 1969, and has been managed by the National Audubon Society since 1970. Constitution Marsh sits adjacent to Foundry Cove, which was heavily polluted by industrial waste from a

nickel–cadmium battery The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni–Cd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The abbreviation ''Ni-Cd'' is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) and ...

manufacturing plant that operated between 1952 and 1979. In total, of

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

was released into Foundry Cove, making it "the most cadmium polluted site in the world." Some of the metal spread to Constitution Marsh in high concentration pockets. Sediment dredging efforts in the early 1970s were largely unsuccessful, and extremely high levels of both nickel and cadmium were later observed in the cove and marsh; as a result, the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

listed the area as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site in 1983. Federal remediation of the site was completed in 1995 after extensive dredging conducted in Foundry Cove. Long-term sediment and water monitoring was prescribed for Constitution Marsh, as it was determined that similar dredging there would have caused disproportionate environmental damage. Additionally, the contaminants would soon be buried beneath clean sediment after the remediation of Foundry Cove. Cadmium levels rapidly decreased throughout the area, and after eight years, levels of particulate and soluble metal pollutants were lower than in the Hudson River at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Recreation

Recreational opportunities include hiking trails that lead to a boardwalk exploring the marsh, and limited

paddling Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling a boat using a paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel. The paddle is not connected to the boat (unlike in r ...

access through the network of man-made channels. The current boardwalk replaced a much shorter version in 2001, and was dedicated to James P. Rod, an environmentalist who served as the warden for the sanctuary from 1982 until his death in 1998. The trails and boardwalk offer expansive views of the

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York state lying primarily in Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County on its west. They continue somewhat to the south in Westchester County and Rockland County ...

, including Storm King Mountain and

Breakneck Ridge Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon, New York, Beacon and Cold Spring, New York, Cold Spring, New York (state), New York, straddling the boundary between Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess and Putnam County, New ...

, as well as the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

across the river.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Constitution Marsh Audubon Center & Sanctuary
Protected areas of Putnam County, New York Important Bird Areas of New York (state) Nature centers in New York (state) Marshes of New York (state) National Audubon Society

Ecology

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links