One of the many reasons wetlands are important to humans is because they can be used to produce food items like rice, mint, and cranberries. Otters, blue herons and pheasants all make the Davis Wetlands their home. Other animals that can be found at the Davis Wetlands are cackling geese, mallard ducks, ruddy ducks, raccoons, jackrabbits and owls, to name a few. There are 220 acres of permanent wetlands at the Davis Wetlands. The Davis Wetlands are open to the public for free from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.
Wetlands filter out pollutants from the water so it can get recycled and reused.
Wetlands are often drained or filled for agricultural use or for the construction of buildings. When people damage wetlands, either by polluting them or destroying them, they also remove the habitat that plants and animals depend on. It is impossible for a person to build an artificial wetlands that can help filter pollution. Artificial wetlands that can filter waste water are already in the operational stage. Scientists feel that we will eventually be able to use specially designed wetlands as large scale wastewater treatment areas that filter pollution more efficiently and cheaply than traditional methods.