U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Rachel Carson

National Wildlife

Refuge

Trail Guide

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

321 Port Road

Wells, ME 04090

207/646 9226

Maine Relay Center

1 800/437 1220 TDD

1 800/457 1220 Voice

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

http://www.fws.gov

For Refuge Information

1 800/344 WILD

October 2001

MARCH 3, 1849

U S. . DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
The Edge of Salt marshes, like barrier bea

the Marsh are fragile and dynamic ecosy

When we build on or dig into 

habitats, we can adversely aff

them in dramatic ways. The u

edge along marshes now seem

more important than once tho

Undisturbed coastal wetlands 

have natural vegetation along 

edges produce dense meadow

grasses and other plants that

support abundant wildlife. W

marsh edges are cleared for b

or otherwise disturbed, use o

marsh by wildlife declines.

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WelcomeWelcome to Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. We hope you will

take time to walk our trail and

explore an environment that is

relatively uncommon in Maine —

salt marsh.

Salt marshes are not as common in

Maine as they are further south.

Maine’s rugged coast has few

sheltered bays where waves slow to

ripples and cordgrass can take root

and build a marsh. Marshes occur

mostly along the southern coast,

including the fine example protected

here by the national wildlife refuge.

The Rachel Carson Trail is a one-mile

walk along an upland edge which

offers vistas and close-up views of one

of southern Maine’s most valuable

ecosystems.
100

0

0

400 Feet

200 Meters

Carson Trail

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

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S t r e a m

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Trail

Boardwalk

Observation D

Upland Edge

Marsh

Salt Pannes

Rivers and St

Legend

S TAT

LAND

Merriland

River

B r o o k

Parking

Skinner Mill Road

Branch

L i t t l e

R i v

e r

Port Road
The Tidal Flux Marshes are flooded and dra

twice a day by meandering ti

creeks like the one before yo

tides bring sea water into the 

mix in fresh water from the u

and carry organic nutrients f

decaying marsh grasses back 

bay. This continual exchange 

and nutrients among the upla

marsh and ocean keeps the m

thriving and helps support a

complex marine food web.

Meanderings Tidal creeks twist and turn a

wander through a salt marsh

wide turn, or meander, tidal c

erode the outside bank as the

up the inside bank. Here the 

bank has cut into the upland 

causing soil to slump into the

creekbed. The creek will slow

the soil away, spreading it thr

the marsh.

Salt Pannes The small, ponded areas befo

are another feature of the ma

pannes. These low spots in th

hold salt water as the tide fal

water evaporates, concentrat

in the pannes. Only specialize

salt-tolerant plants like glass

and sea-blite can grow here. 

pannes nevertheless support

populations of small inverteb

animals which make these po

important feeding areas for w

fowl and shorebirds.

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Hemlock Hollow The coastal upland along this stretch

of Maine’s shore is evergreen. White

pines and hemlocks dominate, with

oaks and maples intermingled and a

ground cover of ferns. Though out of

sight of the marsh, this woodland is

directly linked to it. Ground water

carries nutrients from the forest’s

decaying leaves and needles out to

the marsh. Many species of mammals

and birds rely on both the marsh and

upland for food, cover and breeding

habitat.

Great blue

heron

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Little River Here Branch Brook merges 

Overlook the Merriland River, creatin

Little River, which flows to t

The tranquil, nutrient-rich w

the tidal rivers and marshes 

nurseries for many of our sh

and finfish. Mussels, soft-sh

clams, flounder, bluefish and 

bass all depend on this habit

part of their life cycle. Abun

insects, worms, clams and fi

the marsh in turn attract flo

feeding waterfowl, shorebir

wading birds.

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Dedication Site Rachel Carson worked for t

Fish & Wildlife Service from 

to 1952, first as a biologist, t

a writer-editor. She spent su

in West Southport, Maine. T

her numerous books, Rache

Carson alerted the public to 

link between human actions 

their environmental effect.

From her books about the co

Under the Sea Wind (1941), 

Around Us (1951), and Edge 

Sea (1955) — to Silent Sprin

which challenged the widesp

use of pesticides, her writing

fundamentally changed soci

outlook on the environment.

Common

goldeneye

Marsh-makers Two grasses are responsible for both

building a coastal salt marsh and

making it one of the most productive

ecosystems in the world. Saltwater

cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora),

a tall plant with stiff, pointed leaves,

grows along the creek banks and in

the low marsh. It has special

adaptations to get oxygen to its roots

when flooded during high tide. The

shorter saltmeadow cordgrass or salt

hay (Spartina patens) generally

grows above mean high tide and

forms the broad meadows of grass

of the high marsh. Together the

grasses can produce up to ten tons

of organic (plant) matter per acre

per year — as much as a prime

Midwestern corn field.

Salt hay grass or

salt meadow grass

Spartina patens

(Alt.) Muhl

Smooth cordgrass or

saltwater cordgrass

Spartina alterniflora

Loiseleur

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The Edge of Here you can see all the parts 

the Sea this coastal Maine salt marsh

critical edge through creeks, 

pannes, marsh grass, beach a

ocean, it is a network of soils, 

plants and wildlife that functi

a whole, forming a unique and 

community. As Rachel Carson 

“All the life of the planet is in

related...each species has its o

to others, and...all are related 

earth.” (The Sea Around Us)

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The Critical Edge Critical edge is that portion of upland

that runs along the border of the

marsh. This buffer zone is part of

the salt marsh system in that it sends

fresh water into the marsh, provides

food, cover, breeding habitat and

travel corridors for wildlife that live

in the coastal zone, and protects the

marsh from the adverse impacts of

human activities.

Run-off The intermittent stream below is one

of the obvious links between the

forested upland and the salt marsh.

Clean water from the woodland seeps

into the ground and then emerges in

the stream. Fresh water flows

into the marsh, mixes nutrients with

seawater and helps keep the marsh

productive.

Mean low tide

Extreme high spring tides

and storm tides

Mean high tide

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Upland

Irregularly flooded zone

Coastal wetlands

Regularly

flooded zone Subtidal zone

Coastal waters

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