MAN-MADE MODIFICATIONS:

Since Spalding’s time, when ditches were dug to drain the island, there were a number of changes made in order to retain or remove water at various sites. One of the largest of these modifications occurred in Howard Coffin’s time with the enclosing of the duckpond area, and its subsequent change from saltmarsh to freshwater via the agency of artesian wells. He also built the water garden near the Marine Institute.

It was Reynolds who built a dyke to enclose the marshland between Shell Hammock and the boatshed, but dykes are rarely a match for strong tides and it was quickly breached. Today it provides a haven for marsh rabbits, mink, raccoon, rattlesnakes, Borrichia, dewberries and pokeweed.

It can be a mistake to place labels on environments, and there are many on Sapelo which cannot be slipped into a neat category.