For more than a century, Massachusetts’ cranberry bogs were the rubylike gems of the state’s farming industry. But there has been a drop in demand for the crimson fruit. Bogs in other states have started growing more cranberries, too. That has flooded the market, so to speak. Many of the Bay State’s farmers are in search of new ways to keep their bogs profitable. One solution: a return to the bogs’ swampy past. “It’s a tough environment right now economically,” Brian Wick told The Associated Press (AP). “For some of (our farmers), they’re saying I have some bogs. I can’t keep farming them. They’re not going to be economically viable. They could be an environmentally sensitive area where maybe it’s better to have them not being farmed.” Wick is executive director of Massachusetts Cranberries. Bogs are low-lying areas of wet soil. Cranberries grow on vines in bogs. The berries don’t ripen until winter. That's when farmers flood the bog. It allows for easy harvest as the berries float to the surface. The water then helps protect the vines during harsh New England winters. Tending cranberries can be tricky. It can also be expensive. Many farmers have found that they can make more money by changing their bogs into solar fields or residential properties. Some, though, are taking advantage of federal and state funding to change their bogs back into the natural wetlands that used to cover the eastern half of the state. Doing so has allowed many wetland species to repopulate the region. Among these are river otters and great blue herons. That, in turn, has driven a rise in eco-tourism through the region. “Folks are recognizing these eco-restoration transformations are bringing a whole new range of benefits to the community,” Michael Lach, director of the Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project, told the AP. Reflect: How has a change in the environment or landscape around you made you think differently about the way people use land? Photo of cranberry bog in Massachusetts from Wikimedia Commons.
