To promote better understanding of the complexity of wildfowl preservation and wetlands conservation, we offer the following information. Wetlands are where the water meets the land. Wetlands are where thousands of birds come to rest and feed during their migratory flight, and where ducks and geese breed and raise their young. Wetlands are where anglers fish in the spring, and recreationists relax in the summer. Wetlands are where aquatic life, wildlife and people come together.
Wetlands come in all shapes and sizes, and vary in type and function.
They occur in every state of the United States, from the coastal marshes of Alaska to the mangrove forests of Florida. Some kinds of wetlands are dry on the surface most of the year, such as bottomland hardwood swamps, and others remain saturated or even inundated because they are located near or at the groundwater level. Although wetlands come in many forms, they can be identified by a few common characteristics. Wetlands are areas that, whether or not they are covered by surface water, have at least periodically water-logged soil. As a result, wetlands support the growth of water-loving plants and provide habitat for fish and wildlife communities that cannot live without wetlands.