North Shore Wetlands

Wetlands take many forms – bogs, wet prairies, forested wetlands – and many wetland areas combine these various types. Wetlands provide natural water quality improvement, flood protection, groundwater recharge, shoreline erosion control, wildlife habitat, and other ecological benefits. Despite regulatory protections, wetlands continue to be lost to agriculture and development.

North Shore Preserve features a mosaic of wetlands that extend from the forest to the shoreline. Previous owners modified these wetlands through excavation, fill and species introductions. They also installed subsurface drainage across the northern portion of the Preserve to divert water away from buildings and/or to improve field conditions. Remnant wetland indicators provide evidence that that the Glenwood Inn house (built in the 1890’s) and the former pond (excavated in the 1970’s) replaced portions of these wetlands.

In 2023, Conservation Land Bank (Land Bank) staff began implementing a slope stabilization and wetland rehabilitation project. The first phase of work was focused on building removal and slope instability. Following an extensive design and permitting process, the Land Bank worked with contractors to remove seven cabins, the main house and several other structures. As part of this effort, we converted the beach access road into a pedestrian trail, and disrupted field drains to reduce the concentration of runoff near the steep slopes and restore wetland hydrology.

The second phase, in mid-2024, aimed to reestablish previously excavated and filled wetlands. Following another round of permitting, a contractor re-graded the extensive earthen berm along the northern edge of the pond and the former footprint of the main house to form shallow wetland depressions. These areas were replanted in 2024 and 2025 with native wetland species including, seed, 10,000 herbaceous plants, and several thousand trees and shrubs. Once established, this vegetation will provide habitat, slow runoff and increase slope stability.

For more information regarding this project, please contact Preserve Steward, Peter Guillozet at 360-289-0052 or at peterg@sjclandbank.org.