[3][4] Hoar purchased a part of the Meadows in 1928, and built earthen dams (dikes) to hold the water within the marshlands, enhancing their value as waterfowl habitat for hunting.

White-tailed deer, muskrats, red fox, raccoons, cottontail rabbits, weasels, beaver, squirrels, and a variety of small mammals are common.

The resulting mudflats provide ideal feeding grounds for many species of shore birds and waterfowl that migrate in mid to late summer.

In late July and in August, there will be wide range of birds at these feeding grounds, including various species of sandpipers, killdeer, lesser and greater yellowlegs, and great egrets.

Large numbers of great blue herons, ducks and Canada geese are also attracted to these muddy and nutrient-rich feeding grounds.