Tamarack Swamp facts for kids
Tamarack Swamp is a special kind of wetland called a boreal bog. It's found in Sproul State Forest in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This swamp gets its name from the tamarack tree, which is a unique type of tree that grows there. Many different plants and animals call this wetland home. The entire swamp covers a huge area of 4,000 acres! Part of it is even protected as the Tamarack Swamp Natural Area.
Contents
What is Tamarack Swamp?
Tamarack Swamp is located in the northern part of Clinton County, Pennsylvania. It's northeast of a small community also called Tamarack. It's also north of the town of Renovo. You can find it close to Pennsylvania Route 144, which runs near the western edge of the swamp.
This large wetland covers about 4,000 acres, which is like 3,000 football fields! It sits about 1,667 feet (508 meters) above sea level. Tamarack Swamp is also important because it's where Drury Run river begins. Another important stream, Kettle Creek, is located just north of the swamp.
Amazing Plants and Animals
Tamarack Swamp is a fantastic place for many different living things.
Unique Trees and Plants
The swamp is famous for the tamarack tree. This tree is special because it's the only deciduous conifer (a tree that drops its needles in the fall) found in Pennsylvania. Most of the trees here are boreal conifers, which means they are evergreens that like cold climates. You can also find black spruce and balsam fir trees in the wetland.
Other interesting plants living here include:
- Hooker's orchid
- Soft-leaved sedge
- Small floating manna grass
In the early 1900s, people also found hemlock trees and Sphagnum mosses in the swamp. Some animals usually found in Canada were also seen here.
Birds and Other Wildlife
Tamarack Swamp is considered an Important Bird Area by Audubon Pennsylvania. This means it's a very important place for birds! Some of the bird species you might see include:
- Northern saw-whet owl
- Broad-winged hawk
- Coccyzus erythropthalmus (a type of cuckoo)
- Alder flycatcher
- Melospiza georgiana (a type of sparrow)
- Great crested flycatcher
- Northern waterthrush
- Rallus limicola (a type of rail)
- Golden-winged warbler
The swamp is also home to five rare types of dragonfly. Besides birds and insects, you can find black bears living in Tamarack Swamp. There are also red-spotted newts and wood frogs.
Different Areas of the Swamp
The southern part of Tamarack Swamp has open areas with sedge plants and old stumps from white pine trees. You can also find cattails and alder bushes there. Along the northern edges of the wetland, there are red and white oak trees. Look closely, and you might even spot the carnivorous sundew plant, which eats insects!
History of Tamarack Swamp
People have been interested in Tamarack Swamp for a long time.
Around 1827, a few families, including Alexander Kelly, settled on the western side of the swamp. In 1865, a man named James Hennessy found some moose antlers buried in the wetland. This was an exciting discovery because it showed that moose used to live in the area!
In 1925, a book by Francis R. Cope mentioned Tamarack Swamp. He described it as "a little oasis in the desert," meaning it was a special green place in a less green area. In the 1990s, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy helped add over 9,400 acres to Sproul State Forest, and this land included Tamarack Swamp.
Changes Over Time
Like many natural areas, parts of Tamarack Swamp have been changed by human activities. In the early 1900s, some areas, especially the southern part, were affected by logging (cutting down trees) and other developments. Logging continued as late as the 1940s. By 1947, the tamarack and black spruce trees were not as healthy as they had been around 1900.
Sadly, some bird species that used to live in the wetland, like the olive-sided flycatcher, brown creeper, and winter wren, have disappeared since 1925. A report from the late 1940s also mentioned that pitcher plants were found in the wetland.
Uses and Protection
There have been discussions about developing parts of the Tamarack Swamp area. There are also plans to drill for oil and natural gas in the wetland, and some natural gas pipelines have already been built there.
The land that Tamarack Swamp sits on has different owners. A special part of the wetland, covering 267 acres, is protected as the Tamarack Swamp Natural Area.
In 2000, a study called the Natural Heritage Inventory described Tamarack Swamp as "one of the most unique natural features in the county" (meaning Clinton County). The United States Forest Service has also set aside one-third of the wetland as the Tamarack Swamp Natural Area DA. The Pennsylvania Game Commission even named Tamarack Swamp one of the top 100 birding sites in Pennsylvania!
