| When the federal government used condemnation proceedings in the early 1960s to purchase and take over lands that would become Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, the core of that system was one of the most productive freshwater marsh systems on the East Coast.
For at least a century, private landowners in the area managed the marsh with a system of laboriously constructed dikes and other water-control structures.
Those efforts yielded a food-rich habitat, supporting thriving populations of muskrats and attracting impressive populations of migratory waterfowl feeding on grains falling from plants sowed by nature in an exceedingly fertile environment.
Over the decades, the pendulum swung back and forth. In some years there were efforts to maintain the systems that kept the freshwater system healthy and productive.
In other years, a hands-off attitude resulted in lower water tables in the impounded areas and saltwater intrusion. In those years, extensive stands of worthless phragmites took hold, diminishing the productivity of the marsh and amplifying fire danger to houses in the Broadkill and Primehook Beach communities.
When those problems grew painfully evident, hundreds of thousands of private and public dollars flowed into the refuge to once again ensure the viability of the freshwater system.
Now the pendulum appears to have swung once again to the do-nothing, let-nature-take-its-course mentality.
Managers say Delaware Bay is rising faster than the marsh’s ability to counter. The freshwater system, they say, fed by the extensive drainage area between Milton and Milford, is fighting a losing battle.
We’re not aiding the battle, however, by not doing continuous small maintenance projects that protect the freshwater system: fixing breached dunes after major storms; keeping up the roads going out to the bay that serve as an important part of the diking system; coordinating work between jurisdictions like the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Fish and Wildlife Service to avoid counterproductive projects like ill-advised ditching and installing culverts under roads that let saltwater flow unimpeded into freshwater areas.
Leaning in the informed maintenance direction can go a long way toward fighting the battle incrementally and affordably, and preserving as long as possible the system that sparked government’s interest in the first place.
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