Wetlands provide nursery areas, nesting habitat, wintering habitat, and feeding grounds for fish and wildlife. Spectacular wading birds including herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and storks feed and nest in wetlands. Wetlands support nearly three-quarters of the birds considered endangered in the state. Large mammals, such as white-tailed deer, bobcats, grey foxes, black bears, and panthers, use wetlands for denning sites, movement corridors, escape cover and food. The largest reptiles in the United States, the American alligator and the endangered American crocodile, live in Florida's wetlands.
Wetlands contribute to water supplies.
According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Guide to Recreational Lands, the area is extremely important for groundwater recharge as the aquifers are near the land surface. Wetlands provide protection from flood and storm damage. Wetlands temporarily store flood waters, protecting property owners downstream from severe flooding. They also slow floodwaters, lowering wave heights and reducing soil erosion. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered that when wetlands make up as little as 10 percent of the landscape, flooding decreases by 60 percent.