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Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

              by Bruce B. Beckley


Issue #155, February, 2004
How Dry Can Wet Be?

Dry ginger ale and dry gas sure aren’t dry. What about wetlands? Can a wetland be dry? If it is dry, is it still protected as a wetland? And as a corollary, if a wetland can be dry is it nevertheless useful as such ecologically and worth protecting?

Wetlands do come in many forms and serve different populations. And yes, wetlands do get in the way of things we want to do – houses, roads, back yard cleanup. What’s the story here in Amherst? Since wetlands do serve many populations, it’s important for homeowners to understand the laws on wetland protection. Like every other law, ignorance is no excuse here either and ignorance can be expensive.

A wetland can be dry – as dry as the fallen leaves of last autumn. We grew up in the trying times of WWII when travel on “A” stamps didn’t get you very far. Woods and the grownup fields surrounding our home became our recreation and vacation areas. Come winter we would go back into the woods with our skates and go from one ice-covered pool to another. Some of the pools still held water and would support skaters. Others would collapse all at once like a dinner plate dropped on a tile floor. Obviously, water had been there once but now the pools were empty. By summer, the fallen red maple leaves on the pool bottom would again be dry and crisp. Such was our introduction to vernal pools, maybe the least appreciated and respected of wetlands.

A vernal pool typically contains water several months of the year but dries out in summer or fall. It’s dry for enough of the year so that fish can not live in the pool. This is an important characteristic since fairy shrimp, amphibians and insect larvae can grow and take their places in the food chain. Studies have shown that there may be more food supply growing in a pool than there is in the critters feeding above it.

The species one could expect to find breeding in a vernal pool vary from state to state. In New Hampshire four salamander species, wood frogs and fairy shrimp depend on these pools for their reproduction with many adults returning to the pool of their birth to place their eggs. No special state regulations apply to vernal pools. They are state-protected only as they may fall within other wetlands.

The Amherst zoning ordinance provides a degree of protection for vernal pools while not specifically naming them in the provisions of the wetlands conservation district. This district which overlays other districts is defined in part as “...those areas identified or delineated as poorly or very poorly drained soils or as bodies of water….”

Vernal pools are wetlands all twelve months of the year by definition and regulation.

When new subdivisions are proposed the Planning Board, developer and ACC have generally been able to agree on areas to be protected. Problems arise as new owners move in without a knowledge of the conditions placed by the Planning Board on the development and the regulations behind those stipulations. Mr. And Mrs. New Owner may want more yard, more beach, less shade, a tennis court, horse paddock, gardens or a view and begin to clear around the wetland be it a vernal pool or a natural pond with ignorance of the law or purposeful disregard of it.

Here briefly is what Article III, Section 4-11B of the ordinance says about the land around a wetland:

  1. No structure shall be erected within 50 feet of any wetland.
  2. A naturally vegetative buffer of 25 feet shall be maintained from the edge of any wetland.
  3. A naturally vegetative buffer of 100 feet shall be maintained from the edge of any Public Water Protection Wetland. [44 of these special areas are detailed in the ordinance.]
  4. Except as determined by the Planning Board, there shall be no alteration of contours or filling of land within a buffer.
  5. This and paragraph 8 include requirements on forestry and agriculture in buffers and prohibitions on expanding structures and driveways.

What does all this say? It says:

  • The Town thinks wetlands are important.
  • Vernal pools are no exception within the regulations.
  • Homeowners have an important role in maintaining the integrity of the wetland ecosystem – not to mention their personal integrity as residents in a town with a conservation conscience.

ACC members and the zoning office are glad to assist homeowners in understanding the laws and working within the law to utilize and enjoy their property. Give us a call.

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