I'd like to thank the readers of Pollution UpDate for their comments and suggestions, and DEP for giving us plenty to write about. Wetlands are a vital line of defense in protecting water quality from polluted runoff. Wetlands come in many sizes and forms throughout nature and serve as a transition from dry land to water. They may be saltwater or freshwater, and they may be either permanently, seasonally, or irregularly flooded. Wetlands are often referred to as swamps, bogs, prairie potholes and flood plains.
Wetlands protect our waterways and when they are destroyed, clean water is at risk.
Our country has a history of believing that wetlands were wastelands that spawned disease. Through human development and misguided public policy we have destroyed more than half of the roughly 215 million acres of wetlands originally found in the lower 48 states. Only in 1978 did our government stop paying us to destroy wetlands. Nationwide, the federal government estimates that roughly 120,000 acres of wetlands per year continue to be destroyed. Polluted runoff harms out waters and wetlands protect against polluted runoff.