Small Ditches: BIR has 500 miles of smaller ditches, most just a few feet
wide and a few inches deep, but a few 20’ wide and several feet deep. These
ditches tend to become choked with vegetation, including Common Water
Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes,) Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes,) and
Umbrella Sedges (Cyperus spp.) This plant community helps maintain water
quality. Ditch denizens include the Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga,) Green
Heron (Butorides
striatus,) North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis,) and the
Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys peninsularis.)