Fish swim and feed in wetlands, often eating the eggs of insects that have been deposited in the water. Wetland vegetation provides nesting materials and support structures to several bird species and is a major source of food to mammals, even those as large as moose. Small mammals use the lush vegetation at the edge of wetlands for cover and as a source of food, and they themselves are a food source for birds of prey. Each species has adapted to using the wetland and its surrounding area in a particular way. Wetlands provide a critical habitat for a wide range of plants and animals and support one third of the wildlife species identified as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
Wetlands are among Canada's most valuable and productive ecosystems.
They generate between 5 billion and 10 billion dollars annually in economic returns to Canadians. Wetlands support commercial fishing, sportfishing, waterfowl hunting, trapping, recreation, mining, peatland agriculture and forestry, water purification, groundwater discharge, and flood peak modification. Through conservation programs. Wetland conservation encompasses the protection, enhancement, and use of wetland resources according to principles that will assure their highest long-term social, economic, and ecological benefits. In 1986, the governments of Canada and the United States signed the plan in reaction to the sharp decline in waterfowl populations associated with the destruction of their habitat.