Wetlands vegetation makes up a portion of the diet of deer and moose. When wetlands or surface waters are dredged or filled, or structures are built in or adjacent to them, their functions may be impaired and their benefits diminished. If work is done without a permit a municipality might be fined. A wetland is any area inundated or saturated by water sufficiently to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted to grow in saturated soil. The water may be above or below the soil surface.
Typical wetlands are swamps, marshes, or bogs.
An area can become a wetland if water remains long enough to support wetland vegetation. The DES Wetlands Bureau also regulates seasonal and perennial streams, rivers and their banks, tidal buffer zones and sand dunes. Prime wetlands are larger high value wetlands. Twenty municipalities have designated prime wetlands. Special restrictions apply to prime wetlands.