Managing use to reduce user conflicts, prevent over-use of resources, and improve water safety. Strengthening environmental education and ethics. Improving non-recreational land management through assistance and regulations. Providing more adequate funding for outdoor recreation. Wetland Priority Plan Wisconsin's wetlands enhance the water supply, contribute to flood control, and support abundant and varied plants and wildlife.
Wetlands also are settings for many kinds of recreation and provide scenic open space.
For many years, Wisconsin wetlands were drained and filled with careless abandon, leaving only a fraction of the estimated 10 million acres of wetlands that once existed. Now, there are numerous federal, state, and private efforts intended to preserve, restore, and improve wetlands. In Wisconsin, wetlands are protected through several programs of the DNR, often in cooperation with federal agencies and nonprofit organizations. Priority criteria correspond with program goals and objectives, such as improving hunting or protecting endangered resources. The federal acquisition of wetlands in Wisconsin is significant, with the Department of the Interior as the primary purchaser.