This summer’s drought has dried even wetlands, raising concerns from at least one resident, although experts say it’s part of a natural cycle for wetlands.

John MacDonald, of 153 Altamont Road in Voorheesville, said that the wetland behind his house was “as dry as I’ve seen it in the 18 years we’ve been here.” 

According to MacDonald, the Black Creek area starts “in our backyard” and then takes a circuitous route, feeding into the Watervliet Reservoir on Route 20, Guilderland’s major source of drinking water.

He said that this was the first time he had ever been able to simply walk across the wetland, which was dry. There were mallards and Canada geese in his backyard every year, he said, but not this year. “In the past we have had 6, 8, 10, 12 inches of water at this time of year,” said MacDonald. “We would have at least 3 or 4 inches, because the ducks were still here, and you would need to have that kind of water for the ducks to float around.” 

He added that he has white birch trees all over his property “because they drink water like crazy.” They usually have had all the water they need, he said. A birch on the property next door that was recently cut down because it had gotten too old, measured 54 or 56 inches across, he said. 

Reached again by phone Wednesday after a day of soaking rain, MacDonald said that there were now “puddles out there,” and that it was “slushy” but that there was still no standing water. 

“If it’s going to rain like they said for the next week, maybe we will have some water back there,” he said. 

Kenneth Pearsall, a chemist with the United States Geological Survey, told The Enterprise that it’s not unusual for some wetlands to dry out in certain years. “Certainly this time of year is when it would normally happen,” he added. 

“I would be more concerned.” Pearsall said, “about a wetlands that dries out in spring or early summer, since that would impact amphibian survival — tadpoles, salamanders, and so on. At this time of year, those things should either be out of water or they weren’t going to make it anyway. But there’s no denying it’s dry.” 

He added, “I say that even as it’s raining out right now.” 

Rick Georgeson, public information officer with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 4, told The Enterprise that he could not comment on information that was simply anecdotal. 

Dr. Jon Kusler, of Berne, associate director, emeritus, of the Association of State Wetlands Managers, said that these kinds of fluctuations are part of the natural cycle of wetlands. 

Wetlands do periodically dry out, he said, when there is low humidity, and then they get wet again. 

Asked if wetlands are unable to fulfill the role of cleansing and filtering water when they have dried, Kusler said that there are also other important functions that they can serve when they are dry. 

For instance, some predictions are for our area to get three inches of rain a few days from now, he said. If that does happen, the dry wetland will help to store the floodwaters, so that there won’t be as much flooding along the Black Creek. 

In addition, he said, soil develops during dry periods. And soil development is important for many of the roles a wetland plays. 

Wetlands can also continue to serve the function of removing pollutants from water even when dry, “although this may seem counterintuitive,” he said. How do they do it? “There is always some movement in the wetlands, underneath. There’s usually groundwater movement.” 

Indeed, he said, in periods when wetlands are drier, you won’t see as many animals. “If it’s too dry, the animals won’t breed, they’ll find another location.”    It has been very dry, he said. “We were down at least 7 inches.” He said that the current meteorological picture is complicated and that forecasters don’t agree on whether we will get three inches in a few days. 

“But if we do,” he said, “that should be helpful.”