May is #AmericanWetlandsMonth: Check out the many benefits of wetlands to Michigan's waterways and wildlife

Happy American Wetlands Month!

Check out the many benefits of wetlands to Michigan's waterways and wildlife

Wetlands are a significant factor in the health and existence of other natural resources of the state, including inland lakes, ground water, fisheries, waterfowl and wildlife, and the Great Lakes.  Michigan wetlands provide many benefits:

• Wildlife habitat by providing breeding, nesting, and feeding grounds and cover for many forms of wildlife, waterfowl, including migratory waterfowl, and rare, threatened, or endangered wildlife species.
• Flood and storm control by the hydrologic absorption and storage capacity of wetlands.
• Protection of subsurface water resources and provision of valuable watersheds and recharging ground water supplies.
• Pollution treatment by serving as a biological and chemical oxidation basin.
• Erosion control by serving as a sedimentation area and filtering basin, absorbing silt and organic matter.
• Sources of nutrients in water food cycles and nursery grounds and sanctuaries for fish.

Most people are familiar with the cattail or lily pad wetland found in areas with standing water, but wetlands can also be grassy meadows, shrubby fields, or mature forests.  Wetlands areas are characterized by the presence of water for long enough in the year that distinctive soils (hydric soils) and a dominance of plants adapted to wet conditions develop.  Types of wetlands include emergent marshes, deciduous swamps, wet meadows, conifer swamps, wet prairies, shrub-scrub swamps, fens, bogs, and dune-swale complexes.

Wetlands play a vital role in recreation, tourism, and the economy in Michigan.  Approximately 50% of Michigan's original wetlands have been drained or filled, making the protection of remaining wetlands that much more important.

Learn more about how the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality protects wetlands at www.michigan.gov/wetlands.

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