PatsPage

What is a Wetland?

Swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, sloughs, and bottomlands are all common names for wetlands, but what makes a wetland a wetland? There is no single, accurate description that defines all wetlands, however, they do have some common traits. In general, wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil for all or part of the year, including the growing season for plants. Note that water may be on the surface for only a short time and appear dry the rest of the year, which makes identification difficult. Wetlands are the link between dry land and water along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes and coastlines.

Why are Wetlands Important?

They provide habitat for wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 43% of the threatened and endangered species, such as the wood stork, Florida panther, and whooping crane, rely directly or indirectly on wetlands for their survival. Many other species, such as the wood duck and muskrat, also make wetlands their primary home. Still other species rely on wetlands as seasonal habitats where food, water, and cover are plentiful.

For example, many small aquatic invertebrates are produced during the wet spring period. They survive the dry months by going into a dormant stage. These invertebrates hatch the following spring when the wetland contains water. The hatching usually coincides with migratory waterfowl's northward journey.

Wetlands have a significant impact on the flow of water. They often act like sponges, storing water (floodwater, or surface water that collects in isolated depressions) and slowly releasing it. Trees and other wetland vegetation help slow floodwaters. This combined action, storage and slowing, can lower flood heights and reduce the water's erosive potential.

Wetlands help improve water quality. Wetland plants and soils naturally store and filter nutrients and sediments. Calm wetland waters, with their flat surface and flow characteristics, allow these materials to settle out of the water, where plants in the wetland absorb certain nutrients from the water. Because of this, our lakes, rivers and streams are cleaner and our drinking water is safer. Man-made wetlands can even be used to clean wastewater, when properly designed.

Wetlands also recharge our ground water supplies by collecting runoff water during storms and then slowly releasing it into the ground water. Over 70% of Indiana residents rely on ground water for all or part of their drinking water.

Why should we protect our Wetlands?

If wetlands are lost or degraded, we lose their ability to control flooding. For example, a study done by the Army Corps of Engineers on the Charles River in Massachusetts, determined that losing the 8,422 acres of wetlands near Boston would result in annual flood damage of over $17 million. The Corp opted to preserve the wetlands in lieu of constructing extensive flood control facilities.

Whatever harms wetlands, harms the species dependent upon them.

The population of mallard and northern pintail ducks in North America have declined since 1955. The loss and degradation of wetlands has been cited as a major cause of this decline. Duck populations have increased in recent years. This increase is believed to be due to improved wetland conditions and increased cover on Conservation Reserve Program lands.

Overlogging of mature US bottomland hardwood forests is believed to have caused extinction of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, North America's largest woodpecker.

Destroying or degrading wetlands results in lower water quality. For example, forested wetlands reduce nutrient loading into water bodies. Forested riparian (streamside) wetlands in predominantly agricultural watersheds have been shown to remove approximately 80% of the phosphorus and 90% of the nitrogen from the water. If wetlands don't perform this function, undesirable weed growth and algae blooms will result. Algae uses large amounts of oxygen on decomposition, thereby depriving fish and other aquatic organisms. Algal blooms are a major cause of fish kills.

Indiana and wetlands

Wetlands occur in every county in Indiana, however, the lack of quantitative information on Indiana's wetland resources have been a major obstacle to improving wetland conservation efforts.

Types of wetlands in Indiana:

Wetland habitats	Acres	% of total
scrub-shrub	42,131	5.2%
forested	504,336	62.0%
wet meadow	55,071	6.8%
shallow marsh	67,564	8.3%
deep marsh	20,730	2.5%
open water	98,565	12.1%
other	24,633	3.0%
Total wetland habitats	813,032	100%

History of wetlands in Indiana
Estimated wetlands circa 1780s	5,600,000 acres
% of surface are in wetlands circa 1780s	24.1%
Existing wetlands	813,032 acres
% of surface are in wetlands today	3.5%
% of wetlands lost	85%

Wetlands Reserve Program

The USDA Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program to restore wetlands. Landowners who choose to participate in WRP may sell a conservation easement or enter into a cost-share restoration agreement with USDA to restore and protect wetlands. The landowner voluntarily limits future use of land, yet retains private ownership. The program offers landowners three options: permanent easements, 30 year easements, and restoration cost-share agreements of a minimum 10-year duration. To be eligible, the landowner must have owned the land for one year, and the land must be restorable and be suitable for wildlife benefits.

Indiana has been involved in the Wetlands Reserve Program since 1994. Indiana has 25,000 acres enrolled in WRP and a current backlog of 69 applications involving 4,500 acres. Landowner interest continues to be significantly higher than available funds.

Indiana recently claimed one of the Nation's largest WRP easements with the signing of a 7,068 acre site in Greene County. Known as Goose Pond, this area was cleared for farming in the late 1800s. Several landowners tried to drain and farm the site with limited success. The present landowner turned to WRP because of increasing difficulties in raising crops in wet soil conditions. NRCS personnel are currently evaluating the site and planning restoration work. The restored site should provide a significant resting and nesting site for a variety of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland dependent species.