Wetlands Wetlands are low areas that are saturated with water. Marshes and swamps are wetlands. Wetlands cover only a small part of Utah but provide critical aquatic habitat in an arid environment as well as economic and other benefits. The largest wetlands in the State surround Great Salt Lake. Because of the importance of Great Salt Lake and its associated wetlands to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, in 1991 the lake was designated a Hemispheric Reserve in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Wetlands are an important part of the earth's ecosystem.
They act like sponges to store water during the wet times of the year and release it into the aquifers and underground streams where we get most of our drinking water. When there are no wetlands to soak up the water, rains are more likely to turn into floods which destroy homes, businesses and farms. Plants that grow in wetlands hold the soil and help keep it from being washed away. Wetlands also help purify water. They filter out harmful chemicals and wastes.