Swamps help prevent flooding, reduce pollution, and serve as habitats for approximately 80 percent of the area's rare plants and animals. The acid soil and water nourish Atlantic white cedar trees. Mammal, bird, and reptile life is relatively abundant.
Insects populate the swamps carpeted with sphagnum moss, where plants such as sundews thrive.
The endangered Pine Barrens tree frog is a year-round resident in the cedar swamps.