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ecosystem had been destroyed at Jamaica Bay. When a new
runway was proposed in 1968, environmental groups success-
fully defeated the project because it would have required even
more wetland destruction. In the 1970s the US Congress passed
environmental legislation that afforded protection for America’s
wetlands under federal law. Still, development around Jamaica
Bay has resulted in the loss of nearly 90 percent of its original
wetlands.
Birds, Butterflies, and Trespassing Turtles
The ecosystems that were lost when the wetlands were de-
stroyed are gone forever. But the value of wetlands is now
widely known, and today Jamaica Bay Park is a wildlife ref-
uge administered by the National Park Service. The sprawling
refuge covers 18,000 acres (7284 ha) made up of wetlands,
salt marshes, and numerous islands, as well as two freshwa-
ter ponds, meadowlands, and wooded areas. With more than
330 different types of birds sighted there, the park is a haven
for bird-watchers. At least sixty species of butterflies can be
found in the refuge, along with an array of reptiles, amphibians,
and small mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, opos-
sums, and muskrats.
One type of reptile that makes its home in Jamaica Bay’s salt
marshes is a turtle known as the dia-
mondback terrapin. Named for the dia-
mond-shaped markings on its top shell,
the terrapin spends nearly all its time in
the brackish waters of the marsh. But
from June through mid-July of each year,
after mating season, the female terrapins
leave the marsh and go hunting for a
sandy place in which to nest and lay their
eggs. That is when things get interesting
at the airport, because in their quest to reach sandy soil, the tur-
tles must make their way across one of the runways. “The original
airport planners never could have imagined that all the sandy fill
WORDS IN
CONTEXT
brackish
Slightly salty, such
as when river water
mixes with seawater.
