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| Wetlands are marvelous places to explore. Life in bogs and marshes exists in two worlds -- land and water -- and the result is an assortment of uniquely adapted living things. |
Allagash Bogs |
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Bogs exist throughout the waterway where time and poor drainage have produced a mat of sphagnum moss where there once may have been a pond. If you find such a wetland in midsummer and the mat surrounds open water, look near the water's edge and you may find the bright yellow flowers of horned bladderwort; the small, white blossoms of the spatulate-leaved sundew; and the  Rose Pogonia vaselike pitcher plant. All obtain some of their nutrients by trapping and digesting insects. Equally interesting are the orchids. Two that you might find in summer's bloom include the beautiful rose-colored grass-pink, or calopogon, and the pink, perfumed rose pogonia, or snake-mouth. Near the edge of the bog, you may see black spruce trees advancing out onto the mat. Their wide, shallow root systems are suited to the upper mat where oxygen exists. Around the bog's perimeter there are often the rutted trails of deer and moose. One interesting wetland that can be explored by canoe lies back from the shore of a deep cove near the foot of Allagash Mountain. Follow a narrow, shallow, slow-moving brook into a pool surrounded by a closing circle of sphagnum mosses and shrubs. in July along its edge, you will likely see the bright, pink blossoms of northeastern rose. Northern white cedar is the common tree on this bog's mat rather than black spruce. Be alert for animal life, for moose have been seen feeding here and eagles often perch on a large dead pine near the distant northern edge of the bog. |
Umsaskis Meadows |
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| Umsaskis Meadows is very different from the peatlands previously described. This wetland is more accurately called a marsh because of its continuous flow of water and grasslike vegetation. It is no accident that the marsh lies at the foot of Chase Rapids, for the river has been depositing sediment and building the wetland here since glacial times. In summer you will find wild rice along with a variety of rushes, sedges, and grasses. A maze of channels among dense stands of speckled alder conceals the work of beaver and provides cover for bird life, including American bittern, great blue heron, pied-billed grebe, black duck, and common snipe. |
Shore Habitats |
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| The edges of lakes, ponds, and streams are characterized by moist soils and shallow waters. Common flowering plants are associated with several zones. Shore borderland plants include wild mint, marsh skullcap, water parsnip, spearwort, marsh speedwell, swamp candles, and larger blue flag. Emergent plants include common cattail, bur-reed, wild rice, wool grass and other sedges, pickerel weed, and arrowhead. Floating-leaved plants include water lilies, pondweeds, and water-smartweed, while submergent plants include waterweeds and bladderworts. |
