Wetlands


Kim Connors
A wetland is an area that is saturated by water either year-round (such as a marsh) or for a period of time during the year (such as a vernal pool) and is categorized by the type of soil, climate, vegetation, water regime, and animal life it supports. There are two main types of wetlands: 1) coastal or tidal wetlands, such as marshes, and 2) inland wetlands, including bogs, basins, and riparian.

Wetlands play a central role in stormwater management and water quality by serving as the "kidneys" of the earth, filtering out sediment and impurities. They also serve as crucial habitat for the sustainability of many plant and animal species.

Why are wetlands important to birds and the environment?

More than half of the nation's original 220 million acres of wetlands have been lost since the 1600s, and continue to be lost at a rate of 60,000 acres annually, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the current threats to wetlands include drainage and conversion for land development and agricultural use; high flow rates from increased impervious surface cover and combined drainage outlets that carry polluted runoff and cause significant erosion and transportation of sediment; the introduction of non-native invasive plants such as purple loosestrife and phragmites; overgrazing by domestic animals that cause pollution, disturbance, and the degradation of vegetation; and the removal of peat, an important wetland plant, for commercial use.

Wetlands provide habitat for a variety of bird species, including waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds. Long-distance migrants utilize them as rest stops and staging areas. In a recent Audubon report, 39 of the 106 water bird species analyzed are decreasing in population. Estimated duck breeding populations in the continental United States have declined 31 percent in the past 15 years, according to a 2001 EPA report

Wetland denizens, such as Virginia Rails, benefit from the preservation of natural wetlands and from restored and other human-modified wetlands. In California's Central Valley, more than half of the breeding American Avocets counted utilize managed wetlands or waterways, according to a 2004 report from the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. The Wetlands Reserve Program of the NRCS has restored or preserved many thousands of acres of wetlands, procuring important habitat for hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, wading birds, and other wetland species.

Getting Started: What You Can Do

  • Learn about federal, state, and municipal protective regulations for wetlands.
  • If wetlands exist on your property -- nearly 75 percent of wetlands occur on private property-create a habitat management plan that restores and conserves the wetlands for wildlife.
  • Support local wetland and watershed initiatives and organizations.
  • Encourage neighbors to protect the function and value of wetlands within your watershed.
  • Reduce pesticide use with the goal of eliminating them completely.
  • Find alternatives to sphagnum peat moss and other resources stripped from sensitive bogs.

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