A Valuable Asset Wetlands are one of America's most valuable assets. They are among our most productive and economically important ecosystems, yet we have been converting them to other uses at an alarming rate. Numerous scientific bodies have recommended that protecting those that remain should be a high national priority. REP America agrees.
Wetlands come in a variety of sizes and types.
Coastal wetlands include estuaries, bays, salt marshes, lagoons, tidal channels, mudflats, and river and creek mouths along the coast. All types of wetlands are important. Because in reality wetlands are much more than that. They support a wealth of resident fish, crabs, worms, birds and mammals, many of economic importance. Wetlands are perhaps the most important component of America's migratory flyways, places where birds can rest and feed.