The Class of 1918 Marsh faces a variety of challenges and problems today.  Some of these interfere with its function as an educational site and a home for plants and animals.  During the last 25 years little has been done to maintain the marsh, in spite of the interest of a large number of people and the development of several management plans.  It suffers from runoff from nearby construction sites, parking lots, and fertilized playing fields.  In addition, the field on the south side of the marsh is used to store snow from parking lots (with its accompanying salt and debris) in winter.  The marsh is dominated by cattails and is being invaded by Reed Canary Grass; it has low plant and invertebrate diversity. Currently, the CNA Committee is working with university planners to try to find solutions to some of these problems. Some of the possible corrective measures that are being discussed are controversial and difficult. All would cost money.

Water Quality
Good water quality is essential for all uses of the Marsh. When water quality declines, both the plant and animal communities change, usually becoming less diverse. Lack of diversity will make a marsh less useful for teaching and research.  Poor water quality also makes marshes less appealing for recreational users.

From the beginning, water quality has been an issue at the Class of 1918 Marsh.  This 14-acre remnant of an 80-acre marsh drains a 125-acre watershed that has become increasingly urbanized.  The Marsh was designed to be a wildlife sanctuary as well as a holding basin for excess water and settling pond for particulate matter to protect University Bay.  The continual inflow of highly fertilized water from the urban watershed causes eutrophication (with its associated algal blooms and fish die offs).  Eventually sediment will fill in the Marsh and turn it into a field. 

To see the sources of pollution  and possible solutions, follow this link: Pollution Sources and Possible Solutions

Eutrophic inlet of Class of 1918 Marsh near Nielsen Tennis Stadium

Plant Diversity
Diverse native plant communities provide food and shelter for a wide variety of animals.  They also provide educational opportunities and can add to human enjoyment of the area.

For 50 years before its reconstruction in 1970 and 1971, the site of the Class of 1918 Marsh was a cornfield.  Draining and farming this land destroyed the pre-existing native wetland vegetation.  Consequently, much of the plant diversity of the Class of 1918 Marsh resulted from planting efforts of classes and other groups since 1970.  Both wetland plants and prairie plants were planted.  The prairie plants were planted in a narrow strip between the Marsh and the path.  After planting these areas, these areas were not continually maintained.  Repeated floods and droughts along with pollution apparently have taken their toll on these planted areas.  Today native plant diversity is low in the Class of 1918 Marsh.  A few very dominant species have taken over much of the area. Animal diversity has decreased as plant diversity has decreased. 

Animal Diversity
Diverse animal communities are a product of the overall environment.  Animals require good water quality, appropriate water depths, diverse plants (food and shelter), and a sufficiently large area (including buffers).

Due to a lack of available records, it is unclear to what extent the animal life of the Class of 1918 Marsh has become less diverse.  Some people say that some frog species, like chorus frogs and spring peepers, have disappeared.  Black Tern, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Common Moorhen clearly nested in past years in the Marsh, but no one seems to know how many years they nested or how successfully they nested.

Educational Opportunities
The Class of 1918 Marsh has been widely used to study animals and plants in a restored wetland.  For years it was one of the best places in the Madison area to observe marsh birds including Sora and Virginia Rails, Marsh Wrens, and fall migrant dabbling ducks.

The decrease in plant and animal diversity has made the Class of 1918 Marsh less interesting for ecology and botany classes. In recent years the extremely thick growth of hybrid cattails (Gibson, et. al., 1998, p. 8) has made it difficult to see birds and mammals except in early spring or during floods when the Marsh is over its banks.  After mid-June the only way to see birds in the Marsh is to stand on the platform table, the berm to the bay side of the parking lot, or one of the back benches.  Consequently, the Class of 1918 Marsh, which was once one of the most used sites on campus by classes, is now useful only for small groups of students. 

Maintenance and Monitoring

For a small marsh area, which is surrounded by developed land and playing fields, to continue to fulfill its functions, constant monitoring and management is required.

Unfortunately, monitoring and managing the Class of 1918 Marsh suffers from lack of personnel and insufficient communication among the interested parties.  There needs to be more communication between managers who determine Marsh policy, classes and researchers who monitor the Marsh, and the Grounds staff who carries out maintenance.   

Sources

Gibson, S., B. Krause, C. Leinss. R. Michels, T. Reese, and L. Zelewski.  1998.  Class of 1918 Marsh:  Restoration and Management Plan.  University of Wisconsin – Madison. Group Project.