Impressions - Snake River

This 213-ha property was acquired by the Province in 1975, and regulated as a conservation reserve on June 9, 2003. It comprises about 20% of a much larger (880 ha) provincially significant wetland system. The Snake River, in Site District 5E-12 meanders slowly through a large marsh and swamp system, enroute to the rivermouth at Muskrat Lake. The serpentine river winds through a large flooded swamp of silver and red maple, black ash and elm as well as open marsh areas. This wild forest overtop of organic soil is an island of green habitat in an agricultural landscape. The Snake River marsh likely provides a filtering function for the watershed, catching and holding onto nutrients and chemicals in the runoff from agricultural lands upriver.