Wildlife links to learn more:

Habitats - Species - Habitat Management - Coverts Volunteers - Wildlife Action Plan - Speaking for Wildlife

Types of Marsh & Shrub Wetlands
Where are Marsh & Shrub Wetlands?
Understanding Habitat Threats

Wildlife of Marsh & Shrub Wetlands
Stewardship Guidelines
Additional Resources for Marsh & Shrub Wetlands

Wet meadows are filled with sedges and grasses. Wet meadows may not be flooded all year, but they are wet for long periods during spring and summer. They provide a rich habitat for such critical species as ribbon snake, spotted turtle and northern harrier.

[Photo courtesy of Michael Marchand, NH Fish & Game]

Marshes contain plants that grow out of water, but whose roots are wet, such as cattails, pickerelweed, and water lilies. Blanding’s turtles, American black duck and red-winged blackbirds rely on marsh habitat for their feeding and lifecycles.

Shrub wetlands are thickets of shrubs and young trees growing out of wet soils, and they often flood in the spring. Spotted turtles, Canada warblers, New England cottontail, and American woodcock all use shrub wetlands for food, cover, or breeding habitat.

[Photo courtesy of Michael Marchand, NH Fish & Game]

High-quality marsh and shrub wetlands are found in all parts of the state, with higher concentrations in Rockingham and Belknap Counties. Lake Umbagog, Great Bay, and the Connecticut River Valley have been identified as particularly important areas for waterfowl habitat, due to their extensive high-quality marsh and shrub wetlands.

Beaver dammed areas showcase different wetland types over time and as a result, are very valuable as habitat for other wildlife species. A beaver dam site will cycle from ponded water (marsh) to abandoned/drained area (wet meadow), and re-growth (shrub wetland).

The highest-quality wetlands are typically defined as being:

• at least 1000 feet from houses, roads or recreational trails
• surrounded by intact vegetation
• in remote areas where beaver dams don’t affect humans

The map at right was created using NH Wildlife Action Plan mapping data. To learn more, click here (connects to NH Fish & Game website on using habitat maps)

The species listed here are closely associated with marsh & shrub wetlands, but many other wildlife species will use these wetlands at some time of the year for breeding or foraging. Species of conservation concern--those wildlife species identified in the NH Wildlife Action Plan as having the greatest need of conservation--appear in bold typeface with links to their species profile from the Plan.

NH Fish & Game publishes a website about reptiles & amphibians in NH with identification photos for all species.

NH Fish & Game

American black duck
American bittern
American woodcock
Blanding's turtle**
Common moorhen
Eastern red bat
Great blue heron
Green darner dragonfly
Least bittern
Mink
Muskrat
New England cottontail**

Northern harrier**
Northern leopard frog
Osprey
Pied-billed grebe*
Red-winged blackbird
Ringed boghaunter dragonfly**
Rusty blackbird
Sedge wren**
Silver-haired bat
Spotted turtle*
Spring peeper
Virginia rail

• Focus land conservation around beaver flowages across the landscape, not just around present-day beaver impoundments. Doing so allows the natural abandonment and establishment of new dams. Conserving only the present-day impoundments while allowing development and road-building near abandoned dams forever precludes the natural succession of those abandoned beaver ponds– from newly flooded sites, to stagnant ponds, to open meadows, and back to reforested landscapes.
• Maintain beaver dams and flowages and use beaver dam water control devices to maintain a consistent water level (important for protecting property or roads).
• Locate new roads and development where they are unlikely to be flooded by potential beaver dam sites.
• For land conservation efforts to successfully protect wetlands wildlife, uplands surrounding wetlands need to be protected as well. A 300 foot buffer of upland, unimpacted by development (no paved roads, buildings, etc.) protects water resources and habitat for many species. However, to truly isolate the wetland from negative development impacts, this buffer may have to extend 1000 feet or more from the wetland edge.
• Regenerate and promote growth of aspen and other hardwoods in small patches or strips along slow streams and rivers to enhance the food supply for beavers. Mallards and black ducks will benefit, as they nest on open ground around waterbodies.
• New Hampshire Fish and Game tracks sightings of rare reptiles and amphibians. Report any sightings to the NH Reptile and Amphibian Reporting Program (click to link to online reporting site).
• Maintain habitat structures such as dead standing trees and overhanging vegetation in the water to provide cover for wildlife; keep downed logs as basking sites for turtles.
• Leave and protect standing dead trees as habitat for heron and osprey nesting, as roosting sites for bats, and as cavity nesting sites for a variety of other birds and mammals.
• Focus wetland restoration efforts on restoring flooding to marshes. Bogs and forested wetlands (such as red-maple swamps) aren’t easily re-created after damage to their vegetation or after changes in their flooding patterns.
• Don’t use heavy machinery within wetland soils to avoid negative impacts on animals or disruption of the wetland’s flooding pattern.
• Where feasible, maintain open, sunny areas with little vegetation (or sandy areas) adjacent to or near marshes for turtle nesting.
• Maintain brush and other woody material in and around wetlands to provide cover for small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.
• Limit recreational access (either completely or with as few access points as possible), as even low levels of human disturbance can disrupt marsh wildlife. Where access is allowed, avoid trampling existing aquatic vegetation. ATVs shouldn’t be allowed in or around wetlands.
• Where human-built dams are present, avoid drawing down water levels in fall and winter, as this exposes dispersing and hibernating amphibians and reptiles to colder temperatures.

• Habitat Stewardship Brochure for Marsh & Shrub Wetlands- read, download or order a hard copy of the Habitat Stewardship Series brochure (at right)
• Wildlife Action Plan Profile for Marsh & Shrub Wetlands - including information about the condition and location of this habitat, the threats facing this habitat, and conservation actions recommended by biologists to protect vernal pools in New Hampshire.
• Wetlands Assessment - Click here to download (or order) the UNH Cooperative Extension publication, "The Importance of Hydroperiod in Wetlands Assessment," a technical publication for wetland scientists and public decision-makers interested in assessing the habitat value of various wetlands (at left).
• Learn more about Reptiles & Amphibians in New Hampshire - Link to the NH Fish & Game Department's "Reptile & Amphibian Reporting Program," and learn about identifying species, learning frog calls, and how you can help conserve New Hampshire's snakes, frogs, salamanders, and toads.
• NH Wetlands Laws & Regulations - link to NH Department of Environmental Services Wetlands Bureau