Fill them in and cover them over and that is what we did until seventy-five percent of the wetlands in New England and especially in Massachusetts have disappeared entirely. Houses sit on these lands as well as strip malls, crops are grown on them. Not until the twentieth century did we begin to rethink the matter of swamps. Scientists had to rethink the matter of DDT as well once it was understood how devastating the effect was on much of the bird population. Swamps and coastal marshlands are no longer seen as areas of waste and filth. None-the-less some individuals continue to look at wetlands for its potential economic development and land of little value in its natural state. Note that even the name has changed from swamps to "wetlands" and "marshland".

The wetlands along tributaries and small streams going to river or lake play a vital role in cleaning up the water as it flows over the land. If you stand on the hill listening to the melt water in the spring on the north side of the complex, you will hear the water dancing and gurgling down the hill in a hundred little streams. At the base as well as the forested areas, the wetlands will soak up the water and begin its program of cleaning. It is almost miraculous what wetlands can do. They can remove heavy metals from water such as lead, cadmium, copper suspending them in clay and holding them harmless. Other processes such as selenium into harmless gasses. Many of the products of the petro-chemical industry from gasoline, paint, varnishes and hundreds of other products can be cleaned or safely separated and rendered inert by the processes of our wetlands. 

The upshot of the wetlands are very efficient and inexpensive way to rid the environment of polluted water. Couldn't most all of the pollutants be removed chemically in a water treatment plant? Probably most- yet at a horrific expenses. As it is the price of water will continually rise in the next decades mostly because of increased population, and greater impingement on the watershed areas. Already within the last few years, the water company has had new chemicals to remove and, for a while, we were even asked to refrain from drinking the water. Water travels through above and below ground streams where it is ultimately collected in wells for our use. Maintaining wetland is the most inexpensive method of filtering and cleaning the water.

At present we are blessed with wetlands surrounding the Paul Revere Complex. The earliest signs of life in this area appear in the wetlands. Skunk cabbages usually poke their heads out of the ground some time at the end of March. This is a great time to walk in the woods. Unless you are willing to practically bathe in DEET mosquito repellent, after the middle of May the wetlands are pretty much owned by the mosquitoes. Walking in the woods in March and early April is also much more pleasant. The vernal pools will begin to fill with melt water. In a matter of weeks the tree frogs will awaken and begin signing their love songs. "The Peepers: we call them here in New England and their sound is welcome as a sure sign that spring is just around the corner. When you go for a walk, watch for the Marsh Marigold growing in the stream and wetlands. Many years ago these plants were the first greens eaten in the spring. My grandmother collected and cooked them every years. They are also an indicator that the wetland has done its job. Marsh Marigolds don't grow in polluted water.