Capturing Savannah's Saltwater Marsh: A Painter's Guide

Georgia is home to one-third of all the salt marshes on the East Coast of the United States, with nearly 400,000 acres of salt marsh spanning from Savannah to St. Marys. Salt marshes are an important natural landscape for sequestering and storing carbon, and they also enhance water quality by filtering polluted stormwater runoff. They are also a great place to spot wildlife, including birds, fish, and crustaceans. With such a diverse landscape and ecosystem, painting a saltwater marsh in Savannah, Georgia, would be a challenging yet rewarding task.

Savannah's saltwater marsh wildlife: herons, egrets, ibis, dolphins, and more

Savannah's vast saltwater marshes are a haven for a diverse array of wildlife, including majestic birds, playful dolphins, and unique reptiles. This ecologically significant habitat stretches for miles, offering a sanctuary for numerous species to thrive. Here, we explore the vibrant wildlife that calls this place home.

Herons, Egrets, and Ibis:

The graceful great blue herons, with their majestic wings and poised hunting stance, are a common sight in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. They stalk the mudflats and shallows, hunting for fish and crustaceans to feed their young. Snowy Egrets, with their elegant plumage, also frequent the area, nesting and feeding in the refuge impoundments. White Ibis, with their curved bills, are another quintessential Lowcountry salt marsh bird, adding a touch of elegance to the landscape.

Dolphins:

The waters of Savannah are a year-round home to the Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin. As the waters warm, these graceful creatures become even more active, playing, feeding, and welcoming new offspring into their pods. The springtime observations of these dolphins can be truly captivating. Additionally, with the rising temperatures, migrant dolphins, who spent the winter travelling the Eastern seaboard, join the resident dolphins in the coastal waters.

Other Wildlife:

Beyond the iconic herons, egrets, ibis, and dolphins, Savannah's saltwater marsh is a bustling ecosystem with a variety of other wildlife. Alligators and turtles can be spotted basking in the sun, while snakes, such as the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and cottonmouth, slither through the marshes. The marshes are also home to a variety of crabs, including the brown squareback crab and the purple squareback crab. Mammals such as white-tailed deer, marsh rabbits, river otters, and raccoons can be spotted throughout the year.

The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1927, encompasses over 30,000 acres of vital habitat, including tidal freshwater marsh. It serves as a sanctuary for migratory birds, especially wintering waterfowl, providing a vital refuge for a multitude of species that call this place home.

The marsh's unique ecological zones: creek bank, low marsh, high marsh, and more

Georgia has the second-largest amount of saltwater marshes in the United States. The marsh can be divided into several ecological zones based on the time and depth of the tides, and increasing elevation from creek banks to the landward edge of the marsh. These zones include the creek bank, low marsh, high marsh, salt pan, marsh hammock, and marsh border community.

The creek bank is the habitat on the banks of tidal creeks. The soil is regularly submerged in seawater, which helps maintain consistent salinity and temperature. The constant flow of nutrients supports vegetation like smooth cordgrass, which can grow up to six feet tall.

The low marsh zone makes up most of the southern marshlands. It is flooded for several hours each day when the incoming tides overflow the banks of the surrounding creeks. The shallow seawater washes over the black marsh mud, and the sun shines directly on the water, increasing the water temperature. This environment has large quantities of organic matter, reducing the amount of oxygen available to living organisms. The low marsh is populated with species like the mud fiddler crab, purple marsh crab, oysters, ribbed mussels, polychaete worms, and snails.

The high marsh is characterised by sandy soil that is barely covered with water during high tide. The soil surface is exposed to air for long periods, and much of the surface water evaporates, creating a high concentration of salt. This makes it challenging for plants to thrive, and only salt-resistant species like glasswort, saltwort, and salt grass can survive. The high marsh is home to sand fiddlers and wharf crabs.

The marsh border community is a transition zone between the marsh and upland areas. It is only reached by the highest tides that occur once or twice a month. Plants and shrubs like groundsel bush, marsh elder, and sea ox-eye daisy can withstand the strong winds, salt spray, and occasional inch of saltwater in this zone.

The unique ecological zones of the saltwater marsh in Savannah, Georgia, offer a diverse range of habitats for various plant and animal species, contributing to the area's ecological significance.

The marsh's history: from Native Americans to conservation efforts

Savannah's saltwater marsh has a long and fascinating history that dates back centuries. The area has been occupied by humans since 500 AD, with the first known presence of Native Americans. Evidence of Native American occupation was discovered during the Truman Parkway's NEPA process, where remains of Indian shell middens were found and secured.

In the mid-1700s, enslaved people cultivated the rice fields and created the system of dykes that still exist today. The area was transformed into rice fields, which required the removal of the cypress swamps. The swamps were cleared and diked, creating the vast expanse of freshwater marsh that we see today. This period of occupation and utilisation of the land by enslaved people is a significant part of the marsh's history.

In the mid-1900s, the area underwent another transformation. The industries along the Savannah River began to use the marsh as a dumping ground, impacting the natural ecosystem. Despite this, the marsh continued to play an important role in the region's ecology and provided a habitat for various bird and fish species.

Conservation efforts for Savannah's saltwater marsh have become a priority in recent years. The City of Savannah has initiated plans to preserve the area and create a passive recreational park open to the public. They are in negotiations with private owners to acquire the remaining properties in the area. The Georgia Conservancy, in partnership with local organisations, is also actively working to protect and restore the coastal marshland. Their goal is to ensure the long-term health and resilience of the approximately 1 million acres of coastal marshland along the South Atlantic coastline.

The conservation efforts focus on protecting the marsh from rising sea levels and encroaching development. By conserving adjacent lands and removing barriers, conservationists aim to facilitate the natural migration of the marsh to higher ground. These efforts are crucial in ensuring the survival of the marsh and the diverse plant and animal species that depend on it.

The marsh's role in flood protection and carbon sequestration

Georgia's salt marshes are ecologically significant, serving as a habitat for thousands of aquatic species, including oysters, fish, birds, and mammals. They also play a crucial role in flood protection and carbon sequestration.

As sea levels rise due to climate change, Georgia's coastline is facing increased flooding and erosion. The saltwater intrusion endangers the freshwater marsh system and the diverse range of plants and animals it supports. However, the saltwater marshes themselves are also at risk of drowning and dying off if they are unable to migrate to higher ground. This threat is exacerbated by development projects that encroach on the marshes' natural migration paths.

The marshes act as a natural barrier against flooding, absorbing floodwaters and wave energy during storms. This protective function is highlighted by Jennifer Kline, a coastal hazards expert, who notes that the marshes "protect us from storms and hurricanes" by reducing the impact of floodwaters and wave energy on the coastline. This, in turn, helps to decrease property damage and safeguard the residents of nearby areas like Savannah.

Additionally, Georgia's salt marshes are essential for carbon sequestration, earning them the moniker "blue carbon." They can store carbon at a rate ten times that of a mature tropical forest. The preservation and conservation of these marshes are of utmost importance in maintaining this crucial function, which contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change.

The Southern Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SAMSI) has developed a 10-year plan to protect and restore approximately one million acres of salt marsh stretching from North Carolina to Florida. This ambitious project aims to strengthen the resilience of the coastline and safeguard the vital ecological services provided by the marshes, including flood protection and carbon sequestration.

The marsh's plants: cordgrass, groundsel bush, marsh elder, and more

When painting a saltwater marsh in Savannah, Georgia, one of the key things to consider is the vegetation. The marsh is home to a variety of plants that have adapted to the unique conditions of the ecosystem, including salt spray and intermittent exposure to saltwater.

One of the most prominent plants in the Savannah saltwater marsh is cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). This perennial grass sprouts from rhizomes anchored in the mudflats. By summer, it reaches a height of about 5 to 6 feet and is a vibrant green. As autumn approaches, golden seed heads appear, providing food for wintering birds. By early winter, the cordgrass turns brown and dies off, forming wracks that drift up onto the beaches and providing important nutrients for the sandy habitat.

In addition to cordgrass, the marsh border community—a transition zone between the marsh and upland areas—is home to groundsel bush, marsh elder, and sea ox-eye daisy. These plants are able to withstand strong winds, salt spray, and the occasional inch of saltwater that comes with the highest tides.

While not as prevalent as cordgrass, other plants found in the saltwater marsh include wild rice, cattail, pickerelweed, bulrushes, smartweeds, arrowhead, and arrow arum. These plants are typically found in shallow freshwater marshes, which support a diverse range of bird and fish species. The deeper freshwater marshes, on the other hand, consist almost exclusively of giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea).

The Spartina grass itself can be further divided into ecological zones based on increasing elevation from creek banks to the landward edge of the marsh. Spartina is at its most luxuriant along the creek banks, where it can grow up to ten feet tall thanks to the abundant nutrients brought in by the tides.

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