A healthy wetland environment should thrive with a diverse variety of plants and wildlife each depending on the other as members of the circle of life. Wetlands are one of the most important natural treasures in the nation, they are located in every state and throughout the world except Antartica. You may only know wetlands as bogs, wet prairies, swamps, or marshes but sometimes one of these environmental assets is right around the corner. In the United States wetlands were once thought of as useless mosquito-ridden swamps and were sold cheaply by the government to farmers with the binding promise that these lands be drained for agricultural use. Today, their value has been recognized and the remaining U.S. wetlands are now protected by the Environmental Protection Agency through provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Wetlands are the critical link between water and land.
They act as giant sponges, absorbing stormwater runoff and releasing it slowly to rivers and estuaries, efficiently preventing downstream flooding and recharging the groundwater table in the process. Downstream flooding is controlled by the wetland absorbent soil matter, herbaceous vegetation and trees such as the cypress, tupelo and gum. These water loving trees drink in vast amounts, some consuming as much as one-hundred gallons of water per day. Wetland soils filter and purify rainwater as it seeps into underlying aquifers, removing fertilizer, pesticides and other contaminants. Because of the frequent presence of dampness or standing water, wetlands are the preferred habitat for many specialized plant and animal communities.