In most areas wetlands are commonly referred to as swamps, marshes, bogs, potholes, vernal pools, bottomland hardwoods, playas and pecosins. As wetlands are the transition zone between water and dry land, the issue has always been, and will continue to be, how and where the line between them is drawn on the ground. Presently all federal agencies have agreed to, when delineating wetlands for regulatory purposes, use the same procedures and will continually work to remove as much uncertainty from the process as possible. It is hoped that New Jersey will adopt and use the same procedures now used by federal agencies.
Wetlands provide many vital ecological and socioeconomic values and functions.
In New Jersey the decline of many fish populations can be closely tied to the decline and degradation of wetlands and riparian vegetation. As wetlands are lost upstream, erosion, flooding, and sedimentation of lakes and rivers increases downstream. Furthermore, the decrease in wetlands has affected waterfowl and other wildlife populations dependent on wetlands. Decreasing populations of waterfowl, fish, and shellfish are a few of the impacts caused by wetlands losses. Wetlands are an integral part of our economy.